


A Simplistic End

by Literaturegeek



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gun Violence, Kissing, M/M, Medical Experimentation, Medical Procedures, Mpreg, Original Character Death(s), Pregnant Anthony DiNozzo, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2020-10-25 16:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Literaturegeek/pseuds/Literaturegeek
Summary: A case ensues after DiNozzo is abducted along with other government and military service men. The reason behind the abductions are not quite understood until DiNozzo finds himself in a strange situation that also involves Gibbs. Everyone is onboard to help solve this case and bring justice to those who need it.





	1. Starts in August

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show. 
> 
> This is going to be a very detailed and long story with many new characters introduced. Story is not complete so updates may take sometime.

Some undercover missions in the past have more than likely gone according to plan. Little did they know their current mission would turn into the biggest case this year. It started off pretty normal until last night. He was nowhere to be found and the search started immediately.

Their mission was to track down an organization that was selling various top secret information from the government. Tony and Ziva were a couple that joined the organization under pseudonyms, Gibbs worked as a bar tender at the bar where the organization would meet in a private room and McGee was a coat checker for said bar. They had been at it for two and a half weeks. A side from hearing a couple of conversations on bidders there was not enough information to stay on the mission so the team was pulled.

**Friday, August 10**

Gibbs approached DiNozzo’s hotel room to let him know that they had been pulled from the mission due to it being unsuccessful. As he approached DiNozzo’s hotel room he found the door ajar. Taking his gun out of the holster he slowly pushed the door open and announced himself. “Federal Agent!” yelled Gibbs. No response. He called Ziva and McGee told them to get up to DiNozzo’s room fast. They arrived and searched the place. The hotel room was clean except the bedroom where they found his clothes all over the place, his bed a mess, and blood droplets on the ground. 

“This is officially a crime scene.” Gibbs sighed heavily, “McGee call Ducky and tell him to bring everything with him.” 

“Ziva, when did you last see DiNozzo?” inquired Gibbs in his usual Gibbs voice; he didn't want them to know he was slightly panicking.

“Last night. We were in the bar observing till about midnight. He walked me to my room and that was the last I saw of him.” Ziva stated as she recalled last night.

Ducky arrived 30 minutes later with everything in tow needed to process a crime scene. 

“Jethro, I am here. Pray tell what happened?” asked Ducky worried.

“I am not sure Duck.” Gibbs replied as he walked over to Ducky.

Ziva and McGee were already working the crime scene. It was a good thing that the hotel was outside the city otherwise their undercover mission would have been compromised but it may already have been by the fact that nobody knew where DiNozzo was.

“Ziva, talk to me.” Gibbs stuck to his usual crime scene banter.

“Something is not right, Gibbs.” Ziva looking slightly confused at the room before her.

“How so?” Gibbs seeing the confusion on his agent’s face.

Ziva continued by stating her observation, “There are no fingerprints, no DNA other than the blood but we don’t even know if that is Tony’s, and his bed sheets are missing but the comforter is not. Other than his clothes being here, there is no other evidence that Tony stayed here. I took samples of the blood on the carpet for Abby.”

Gibbs hollered towards his other agent, “McGee?” McGee entered Tony’s room from out in the hallway where he was reviewing security camera footage.

“Boss, I tapped into the hotel security cameras and we see Tony right up until the last time he entered his room after dropping Ziva off.” McGee continued, “After that, only housekeeping is caught on the camera until you show up just hours ago. It seems that they put a video feed of an empty hallway on a loop. I might be able to uncover more once we get back to NCIS.”

Gibbs sighed and panic ensued but he remained stoic. “McGee, I do not want to hear might. I want to know for sure you can uncover the lost feed.” There was a pause with his mind racing on what to do next, “I am going to interview the hotel staff and I will meet you back at NCIS” He wanted to hear their stories with his own ears even though he knew his team was more than capable.

They both nodded their heads in acknowledgment and packed up.

Ducky followed Gibbs down to the Lobby. He knew that Gibbs was worried.

Ducky placed a hand on Gibbs' shoulder in comfort, “He will be alright, Jethro. You taught him well.” 

Gibbs knew he had taught DiNozzo well but his gut was saying otherwise. He knew DiNozzo for a very long time and the two were very close. It always worried him when his agents went missing. Heck even when Ziva is a few minutes late to work he gets worried but he would never let any of them know.

It took him an hour to interview the whole staff and none of them saw anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Gibbs and Ducky drove back to headquarters to see if his team has found anything else. Ducky gave him more encouraging words as they parted on Gibbs’ way up to the squadroom.

Elevator doors opened and he stepped out to find Abby pacing back and forth while McGee and Ziva were hard at work. Gibbs saw the concern on her face, as he grew closer to her. But before she could start ranting and raving in her worrisome nature about how could this happen and why doesn’t anybody know anything. He put a hand up before she could start and responded with “I know Abs. We are working as fast as we can.” With a hug and little reassurance that he needed her help with finding DiNozzo, she returned to her lab.

They spent the rest of the day working on trying to pull information together but there was no give, so Gibbs sent everyone home. After everyone left he was alone with his thoughts.

“DiNozzo, how is it that you always get yourself into trouble?” Gibbs said to himself.

. . . . . .**A week later, Friday August 17**

“Gibbs!” Director Vance shouted from a top the stairs. Gibbs looked up to find the Director nod towards his office. Gibbs ran up the stairs hoping it was news about DiNozzo.

Once he was in the Director’s office, Vance started talking “Gibbs, as much as I don’t want to say this. I think it is time to put DiNozzo’s case to rest. You have been looking for a week and nothing seems to be leading you to him. “

Gibbs just stared at the Director. He did not like the feeling of defeat. Out of all the years that he has worked for NCIS he has only had one or two cold cases. “I will not give up on finding my agent.”

“Sorry, Gibbs. But I can’t allow that. There are other cases that need your attention. I am sending you and your team home early today.”

Gibbs walked towards the door upon dismissal, "And if I chose not to go home early?” 

“Then I will suspend you without pay till you come to your senses.”

As Gibbs stood he grumbled lowly to himself, turned and headed out of the Director’s office.

Ziva and McGee watched Gibbs as he trotted down the stairs and over to his desk. They watched as he fumble with things on his desk. Ziva looked from Gibbs to McGee unsure if she should say something. McGee just shrugged his shoulders at her not knowing what to do. So they both stared at Gibbs hoping he would say something. He stopped fumbling with things, placed his hands on his desk, and put his head in them before letting out a sigh, “Ziva. McGee. Pack up and go home.” 

Both of them were surprised at the request. They then shared looks that said what should we do. After a minute or two they decided to get back to work. Gibbs slammed his desk with his hand “I mean it by Director Vance’s orders you are to go home, rest and come back refreshed tomorrow.” Now they knew he was not kidding. They both turned off their computers, grabbed their stuff, and started heading towards the elevator. As the elevator doors opened they heard a sound that stopped them in their tracks and turned to face back towards Gibbs. The sound was Gibbs’ cellphone ringing he answered “Gibbs.” The other end was quite for a while then he heard a faint “Gibbs?” and a wearily laugh. The look on Gibbs face said it all. Seeing the expression on his face, Ziva and McGee knew it was DiNozzo on the other end. McGee rushed over to his computer with Ziva trailing behind him. Gibbs walked over to McGee so that the phone call could be traced.

“DiNozzo?” inquired Gibbs.

“Yeah, Boss?” DiNozzo's reply was exhausted and strained.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Oh you know taking some personal time.” DiNozzo replied sarcastically.

“This is no time for joking around.” Gibbs said through gritted teeth.

DiNozzo usually joked around when he was nervous or scared. “Look, boss I do not have much time. I am going to set the phone down so you can track it.” With that he stopped talking.

“DiNozzo? DiNozzo? Tony? Find him McGee.” 

“I am trying Boss.” McGee was picking up a signal from DiNozzo’s phone. He started to zoom in when the signal was lost.

They were able to get a location it was not exact but it was a start and Gibbs would take that over nothing. The signal was coming from a warehouse district down by the pier. Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee left headquarters to go find DiNozzo. They searched every warehouse until they came to the last one. Inside they found a mattress, sheets from the hotel, and blood but no DiNozzo. Gibbs was so pissed he punched the wall of the warehouse while on his way out to calm down. Ziva and McGee collected what they could to bring to Abby hoping she could provide answers.

Once they arrived back at NCIS, Gibbs informed Director Vance of what unfolded recently. Hearing the news, Vance wanted the FBI to get involved with the case; put more men on the field so to speak. Gibbs accepted the offer on one condition that Tobias Fornell lead the investigation. The Director agreed to the condition if Gibbs agreed to his condition that everyone goes home and rest to start early tomorrow. He disliked it because it meant they were losing critical time in locating DiNozzo but agreed to the Director's request.


	2. Recuperating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DiNozzo is found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show.
> 
> Not too happy with this chapter. I may end up editing it later. If I do I will let you know what I have changed. Thank you for the comments and KUDOS. I am glad this story is being well received. I've had it stored on my computer for about two years before I got the courage to post it.

**Saturday Morning, August 18**

Gibbs was standing in line at his favorite coffee vendor waiting to be served. When he heard a recognizable voice from behind him.

“Which agent did you lose this time?”

Gibbs turned around to face Tobias, “Hello to you too, Tobias”

Fornell smiled and nodded at Gibbs in acknowledgment, "So are you going to fill me in on what happened?”

Gibbs turned back towards the vendor, “After I order my coffee.”

They took their coffees to a nearby bench for so some privacy, Gibbs informed Tobias of everything that happened from the undercover mission to talking to DiNozzo last night.

Fornell took a sip of his coffee as he listened to Gibbs finishing his story, “I'll see what my team can dig up.” They stood and said their goodbyes to continue on with their day. Fornell returned to FBI headquarters and Gibbs returned to the squad room.

Gibbs entered the squad room, “Anything new from the evidence we collected last night?”

Ziva stood and walked over in front of the flat screen next to McGee's desk,“Only that the blood on the sheets is Tony’s. But we suspected that already. Like the hotel room, the warehouse was a mess but no evidence other than Tony’s blood.”

Gibbs was pissed. He never failed a team member but he feared this time he might. It was getting to the end of the day and when he didn't think he would hear from Fornell, his phone rang.

He answered it, “Gibbs.”

Fornell on the other end informed him, “We found him.”

Gibbs almost dropped the phone. Ziva and McGee could tell something was going on by the look on his face. They grabbed their gear and headed over to the elevator.

“Where?” inquired Gibbs as he grabbed his gun and badge.

“I do not think you should come down here. Due to conflict of interest, with you being his boss.”

Gibbs rushed to the elevator, “Like hell, I'm coming down there. Now is not the time to go federal agent on me. Where is he?”

“We found him in a warehouse about ten miles from where you were the other day. He doesn't look good Gibbs.”

Gibbs was getting pissed by the second. “Give me the address!" After Fornell gave him the address, he slammed his phone shut. The elevator could not go fast enough. He practically ran to the car leaving Ziva and McGee in the dust.

As they arrived on scene, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Ducky had just pulled up in the NCIS van. FBI was already there with their government issued van locking down the area and searching for more clues to capture the person or persons who kidnapped DiNozzo. Fornell was standing at the entrance of the warehouse talking to a fellow agent.

He saw Gibbs and his team approaching, “I really do not think you should be here but I know how stubborn you are when it comes to your own agents.” He stepped aside to allow Gibbs, ZIva, McGee, and Ducky to enter. In the center of the warehouse was what looked to be a portable doctor's office with equipment, a gurney, and various medical instruments. DiNozzo was sitting on the gurney in a medical gown talking to an FBI agent. He had lost some weight and looked exhausted. He also had visible bruises on his face. Gibbs was hoping that was the only damage that DiNozzo sustained. DiNozzo had a smile on his face and was cracking jokes with the FBI agent. He waved as he saw Gibbs and the others approaching. He seemed unfazed, “Here comes the boss. Hope I don't get fired for missing work” DiNozzo joked to the federal agent who did not find it funny. 

“I’ll take the questioning from here.” Gibbs stated as he drew closer. The agent nodded and returned to Fornell.

“You okay, DiNozzo?” Gibbs inquired with concern reaching to touch the bruise on his face.

DiNozzo winced, “Sure. Never felt better.”

“What the hell happened?”

DiNozzo smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and chuckled a little, “Guess I partied too hard with Ziva the other night.”

Ziva scoffed upon his response, “Tony, this is not funny.”

DiNozzo got serious really fast and he looked at Ziva with a blank stare, “Don’t you think I know that, Ziva.” he said through gritted teeth.

Ducky placed a medical bag on the gurney, “Anthony, calm down my dear boy. Everyone has been so worried about you. Now how about I look you over and then we can get you home.” Ducky turned to everyone. “A little bit a privacy, if you please.”

Gibbs reluctantly moved from DiNozzo's side but received an assuring look from Ducky, "Sure thing, Duck. Just let us know when you’re done."

After about 10 minutes, Ducky came out from the warehouse. Gibbs walked up to him, “How is he, Duck?”

“Not good Jethro, mentally or physically. In fact, I think he should be taken to Bethseda and receive a private room. I will tell you more once we are there.”

DiNozzo was taken to the hospital, cleaned up, hooked up to an IV due to dehydration, and given a light sedative. Ducky was conversing with the Doctor while Gibbs watched DiNozzo slowly drift off to sleep. The Doctor left the room and Ducky came to stand next to Gibbs' side.

Gibbs turned towards Ducky, “Tell me what you saw, Duck.”

Ducky led them out of the hospital room before informing Gibbs of what he saw, “Apart from the bruising on his face. Under the gown was a whole other story. He had some light discoloration on his abdomen and two small incisions just above the pelvic area and below his belly button. I am not sure what procedure was done on him but he was quite tender in that area. His back also had bruising. Although he seems like the same old Anthony, you and I both know that it is a wall he puts up when he is nervous or scared.”

The whole entire time Ducky is informing Jethro about this he stares at the floor lost in thought as to what in the world happened to his best Senior Field Agent. He listens as Ducky continues, “He is going to need a psych evaluation before he returns to work.” 

Gibbs sighed, “I know Duck. Do you think he will recover?”

"Only time will tell, Jethro. He is suppressing what happened. We need to be patient and let him tell us in time what happened. Forcing him to remember will only cause more damage.”

“Thanks, Duck.”

“Be patient, Jethro.” Ducky said his goodbyes then proceed home.

Gibbs stayed put in the waiting room. Now that he found his agent he wasn't leaving DiNozzo's side.

**Sunday August,19**

Jethro was awoken to a nurse placing a blanket over him. “Sorry, Agent Gibbs didn’t mean to wake you.” He had fallen asleep on a bench in the waiting room.

He came to a sitting postion and wiped the sleep from his face, “What time is it?”

“A little after nine am. Special Agent DiNozzo is awake if you wish to visit him.”

Gibbs looked towards DiNozzo’s room debating on whether or not to enter. He knew he had to at some point to talk with him and find out what happened. It is always harder for him to question his own team members but he would rather do it then another agent. Finally making the decision, he stood from the waiting room bench and headed to DiNozzo’s room. As he approached the door he placed his hand on it and took a deep breath. He opened it to find DiNozzo sitting on the side of his bed with his leg’s over the edge staring out of the window.

“From this view, I seem to have the best room in this place.” DiNozzo stated as he sensed Gibbs entering his room and moving towards his bed to sit down next to him.

Gibbs just stared at him wondering how DiNozzo could sarcastically deflect everything that happened, “Yup, but I think we both know I am not here to discuss your hospital room view.”

DiNozzo sat there staring out his window hoping that Gibbs would just sit in silence but he knew eventually the inquiries would start, “Ah come on boss just take in this view with me.”

“Damn it, DiNozzo! I need answers if we are going to catch this bastard.” Gibbs stated with frustration.

DiNozzo tensed at the raised words that came from his boss. “I know, Boss.” he stated with a sigh and his head hung low. “I honestly don't remember much.” He moved back under the covers of his hospital bed as Gibbs tried to help him remember.

Gibbs moved to the foot of his bed, “Let’s start with what happened after you dropped Ziva off at her hotel room and returned to yours?”

DiNozzo laid in his bed, arms crossed over his chest, “I’m not sure. I remember hanging with Ziva at the hotel bar and later walking her to her room. Then proceed to my room. I opened the door to find my place a mess and that is all I remember until I was found.”

Gibbs just stared at Tony and sighed. He wanted justice for his agent but he knew that pushing DiNozzo was not going to help anyone. He started pacing the room trying to figure out ways to help DiNozzo remember.

DiNozzo watched as Gibbs paced around the room lacing his hands behind his head. DiNozzo wished that he could help more because he knew Gibbs was frustrated. He wanted this perp caught just as much as Gibbs. He stopped pacing and walked over to DiNozzo's bedside and opened his mouth to say something but instead turned and walked out of the room.

After leaving DiNozzo’s hospital room, he knew he needed some air and stepped outside. He sat on a bench outside the hospital trying to figure out ways to help DiNozzo remember anything. But he eventually came to a conclusion that Ducky was right that DiNozzo was the only one who could recall this information and he would do it in his own time. Gibbs just hoped it was sooner than later.

About an hour later, Gibbs returned to DiNozzo’s hospital room to find him asleep. He left the room to approach the nurse’s station.

“Special Agent Gibbs, how may I help you?”

"I am going to go home and clean up. When Agent DiNozzo wakes up please tell him I will return around one or two.”

“Yes, Agent Gibbs.”

With that he left the hospital to go home, shower and change. Instead of returning to the hospital he went to the Navy yard to check in with McGee and Ziva.

McGee looked up as Gibbs entered the squadroom, “Hey Boss? How's Tony?"

"Where is Ziva?”

“Down in Abby's lab” stuttered McGee confused as to why Gibbs was not at Bethesda questioning DiNozzo.

Gibbs sat down at his desk put away his badge and gun then stared at his computer and started fidgeting with items on his desk not knowing what to do. He obviously was not getting anywhere with DiNozzo at the hospital but he also can not do anymore than they already were on the case until he remembered.

McGee sat there watching his boss with confusion. He was going to ask Gibbs more on the DiNozzo matter but was blocked by Ziva entering.

She entered the squadroom looking at the case file completely oblivious to what had transpired, “Abby is still working on pulling fingerprints and blood off the medical instruments.”

She sat down at her desk and finally looked up over a McGee when he did not respond to discover that he was staring over at Gibbs' desk. Realizing Gibbs was seated there she stood up from her desk and started briefing him on everything that was found so far. “Abby is still working on pulling evidence off of everything that was found in the warehouse. She suspects that most of the DNA will probably be DiNozzo’s unless we get lucky and the perp did not wear gloves. McGee was working on tapping into surrounding surveillance cameras to see if they got anything. The warehouse DiNozzo was in did not have a camera so we are relying on outside sources. I also contacted Fornell to see if he has anything else that may help us.”

“That’s good work, Ziva.” replied Gibbs.

McGee chimed in next on his progress with the surveillance cameras but Gibbs stopped him mid sentence and told McGee and Ziva to go home and get some rest. They both looked at each other and wondered if they should leave or continue working. It was only two in the afternoon which is rare for such a request from Gibbs. They decided the smart move was to go home so they both left Gibbs reluctantly alone in the squadroom.

Gibbs just sat there in silence going over everything that happened over the last few days. Asking himself questions as to why all this was happening. Kidnapping of agents doesn't happen all the time but when it does there is usually a diabolical reason. As he sat at his desk for a couple more minutes thinking about the next steps for the investigation he decided to not return to the hospital. Instead he was going to go home, work on the case a little, maybe get some sleep and return bright and early to lead the investigation with Ziva and McGee.

In the meantime, DiNozzo was still asleep at the hospital. He woke up sometime around noon. The nurse was just coming in with lunch. “Good afternoon, Agent DiNozzo. Agent Gibbs told me to tell you upon waking that he was headed home to change and would be back around one or two.”

He responded with a smile, "Thank you"

The nurse placed his lunch tray on the table next to his bed, “Here is your lunch, can I get you anything else?”

He grabbed his tray and dug in, "No, thank you."

The nurse left him in peace to enjoy his lunch. He figured he would take this time to try and recall his kidnapping. He wanted to be of asisstance to his team not to mention he wanted this perp brought to justice just as much as Gibbs did. He tried to recall anything, like a smell, a face, or clothing.The Doctor and nurse assured him earlier that the majority of him was fine. He sustained a few bruises and dehydration but nothing serious like broken bones or a head injury. The only thing that had them perplexed were the incisions on his abdomen. So, he knew something awful must have happened for him to suppress the memory. He finished his lunched and turned on the television in his room to pass the time while he waited for Gibbs to arrive.

He never showed. When the nurse came back to collect his tray he asked, “Any messages for me?”

She flashed a smile his way and somberly responded, "No."

He thought maybe something came up with the case and he became occupied with that. But after hours of waiting and never hearing anything, He decided to get some sleep. His dreams were not peaceful, it was almost like he was watching a movie of his kidnapping. The details were still vague but he had a little more information. As the nurse came in to check up on him, she noticed he was unsettled in his sleep. She tried to rouse him. Little did she know that it was not going to be a smart decision on her part. He reacted in defense by choking her but when he realized what he was doing he released his hold on her. DiNozzo apologized and called another nurse in to assist with medical care. He memories were slowly returning to him in his dreams.


	3. The Next Few Days. . . .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DiNozzo is going to through a lot the next couple of days. The investigation gets interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show. 
> 
> I am using military time in my story.
> 
> Gibbs rule 35: "Always watch the watchers." and #36: "If it feels like you're being played, you probably are."

**Monday, August 20**

Gibbs was startled out of his sleep when his cellphone rang. His wristwatch said 2430 am. He sat up on his couch and grabbed his phone, “Yeah. Gibbs.”

“Agent Gibbs, we need you back at Bethesda. Agent DiNozzo assaulted one of our night nurses. We think he may be remembering something.”

Gibbs grabbed his keys and drove to the hospital. As he walked past the nurse’s station on the way to DiNozzo’s room, he saw a nurse being attended to. He entered the room to find two security guards, a nurse, and DiNozzo’s doctor, Dr. Ryan Lee, who were all facing in the general direction of DiNozzo. Gibbs found him on the ground in the corner to the right of his hospital bed with his back against the wall, knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, and head down. “Agent Gibbs.” Doctor Lee said with relief. Gibbs acknowledge Dr. Lee with a nod as he came to stand next to him to get a closer look at DiNozzo. Gibbs walked over to him and crouched down in front of him. Very softly he inquired, “DiNozzo?”

“Boss?” responded DiNozzo not once looking up.

Gibbs placed a hand on his left knee, “Come on, let’s get you back into bed.”

DiNozzo shook his head fiercely. He had never seen his agent this way his mannerism were very childlike which meant DiNozzo’s mental state was not well.

Gibbs looked over his shoulder and exchanged a look, a plea, with Dr. Lee to let them have some privacy. Dr. Lee fully understood and ushered everyone out. As soon as the door closed, Gibbs put his hand on DiNozzo’s shoulder and he opened his eyes to look up at Gibbs. He gestured with a nod to DiNozzo’s bed. They both slowly stood and walked over to the bed. Once his agent was situated in bed, Gibbs pulled up a chair next to him and sat down with a sigh, “want to tell me what happened? Or am I going to get another ‘I do not remember’?” DiNozzo sat there staring blankly at the wall in front of him. Gibbs sat there waiting for a response when he didn’t receive one, he stood from the chair to find Dr. Lee.

As he reached the door, DiNozzo finally spoke, it was barely audible, “I dreamt I was lying on a gurney. There were noises like metal clanging and machines beeping. Two people stood over me, next came excruciating pain in my abdomen. I tried to move or scream to let someone know I was in pain but all I could do was lie there.” Tears were now slowly falling down his face. His eyes darted to Gibbs. “And the next thing I knew, a nurse was trying to wake me and I reacted in defense.” He returned his attention back to the wall.

Gibbs listened to the horrors that DiNozzo possibly could have endured. He never would forgive himself for what happened to his senior field agent. He felt sorry for him, for the hell he had gone through. He feared that the DiNozzo he knew would never be the same. Vengeance was the only thing on his mind at the moment.

A knock at the door broke the moment. “Agent Gibbs, may I talk to you for a minute.” Gibbs nodded his head in acknowledgment. He gave DiNozzo a reassuring nod that he would be back. Gibbs closed the door behind him. “Whatcha need, Doc?”

Dr. Lee stood there with his arms crossed in front of him, “Agent Gibbs, I am very concerned about Agent DiNozzo.”

“Yeah, you and me both.” He said sadly while looking back towards DiNozzo’s room.

“As a medical professional, I really dislike what I am about to say next but I am releasing DiNozzo from our care. I will not have my staff at risk.”

Gibbs looked at Dr. Lee in disbelief.

“I’m sorry Agent Gibbs but his body is mending just fine in the two and a half days he has been here. There is no reason for him to stay.” Dr. Lee took a breath before he continued, “I believe what he needs now is a psychologist. His mind is what needs healing. Plus, being in a more familiar environment might help with that. Not a place that reminds him of the tragic event.” 

Gibbs ran a hand through his hair to the nape of his neck and turned back towards DiNozzo’s door with a sigh. “You’re right. He might do better in a more familiar place.”

Dr. Lee nodded to show approval to Gibbs’ thought, “I suggest that he stay with someone like family or a dear friend and he will have to return for follow-up exams.”

Gibbs turned back to Dr. Lee, “You can place him in my charge.” 

“Very well, I will go and return with the discharge papers.” Dr. Lee walked over to the nurse’s station to prepare paperwork.

Gibbs reentered the room to find DiNozzo over by the window looking out. Gibbs walked over to stand next to him. While he looked out the window and waited for Dr. Lee’s return, he turned his thoughts to the investigation which was not long before DiNozzo spoke up, “Thank you for offering to take me in but I will be fine by myself.”

While still looking out the window Gibbs shook his head, “Nope. Not an option.”

DiNozzo turned towards Gibbs leaning his left shoulder against the window, “I don’t want to put you out, boss.”

Gibbs turned his head in DiNozzo’s direction. He looked him up and down waiting for his agent to meet his gaze. When he did Gibbs smirked and said, “Wouldn’t have offered, if you were.”

The men both went back to sitting in silence. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Lee entered. He handed a clipboard with papers on it to DiNozzo to sign then to Gibbs to sign. Dr. Lee collected the clipboard from Gibbs and informed DiNozzo of his discharge. “Before I release you DiNozzo, I would like to run a couple more tests. So when you come back for follow up appointments, we can compare your results from time of release. Now it will take a while because we are a little backed up but we should be able to get you out of here by 5 this afternoon.” He turned and left the room.

DiNozzo cleared his throat, “No sense in you waiting around, boss.”

Gibbs made himself comfy in his chair, “Ziva and McGee can reach me if they need me.”

“If you’re worried about leaving me here alone, I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.”

Before DiNozzo could banter back, Gibbs’ phone rang. The caller ID had Ziva’s name on it, “Gibbs.”

DiNozzo could here Ziva’s voice on the other end but couldn’t quite hear what she was saying. He was a little sad to hear her voice because he secretly wished Gibbs would stay there with him.

As the call ended, Gibbs stood up walked over to him and patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile that he would be back. Gibbs left but not before he called over his shoulder, “See you at five, DiNozzo.”

****Back at NCIS****

Ziva and McGee arrived early at NCIS to continue working on all the evidence the FBI shared with them after finding their fellow agent. Ziva dropped her things off at her desk and announced to McGee as he was arriving at his desk that she was heading down to Abby’s lab to check in. McGee nodded and set himself up to watch more surveillance footage. So far they had gone through weeks worth of surveillance from various cameras in the area.

He sped through the footage until the time stamp displayed the week before they found DiNozzo. As he suspected, he saw a van pull up to the warehouse a couple times that week dropping off medical equipment and then finally DiNozzo. The van, in the video, had no license plate or other markings on it and the abductors, seemingly men, did well to hide their faces. He decipher the abduction was well planned. Ziva entered the squad room ending the call on her cell as he was taking notes about the footage. She stopped in front of his desk, “How is it going, McGee?”

“I've found some evidence. How about you? What did Abby have?” McGee inquired after writing down his last bit of information before setting his pen down and looking up at Ziva.

She squinted her eyes in curiosity at McGee before replying, “Abby was able to pull two partial fingerprints from the medical equipment but she was not able to match them to anything in the database. I called Gibbs to inform him. What did you find?”

McGee showed Ziva what he found on the footage while he explained his thoughts on the evidence.

She commented with, “It is obvious they have been planning this abduction for some time.”

“I agree but there is something that I don't quite understand.” He stated looking quizzically at the screen.

“Oh?” inquired Ziva as she looked towards him.

“Why was. . .” started McGee before Gibbs walked in and finished his questioning.

“DiNozzo a target?” he finished McGee’s train of thought as he entered the squad room. They both looked in his direction as he walked towards them.

McGee was going to agree with Gibbs but they all turned around to face the stairs when the Director jumped in with his own line of thought, “I believe that is a question we all want answers to.”

They watched as he walked over to them in the squad room. He turned towards Gibbs, “How’s DiNozzo, by the way?” inquired Director Vance.

“Fine. Director. Nothing a little head shrinking won’t fix.” replied Gibbs.

“And the case?” asked the Director.

Gibbs stared at him before turning to look at McGee.

“Ziva and I were in the middle of reviewing surveillance footage when you and Gibbs walked in, Director.” replied McGee. He glanced towards Gibbs to see if he should continue with further details of his findings.

But thankfully his boss jumped in, “You’ll know when we know.” Gibbs walked over to his desk and sat down in front of his computer.

Director Vance stood there for a minute then turned to head back up to his office. “I expect a full report on everything you find.”

Gibbs looked at Ziva and McGee with a slight smirk on his face. When he was positive Director Vance was back in his office, he turned to McGee, “McGee, what did you find on the surveillance footage?”

“As I was telling Ziva, boss. The video shows an unmarked van going to and from the warehouse, where Tony was found, weeks prior to his abduction. Each time dropping off various equipment and materials.” He showed the footage to Gibbs then continued, “So far, what I can tell is there are at least two abductors but still no identities. They hid their faces well with ski masks.”

“Good work, McGee.”

Ziva and McGee walked over to stand in front of his desk. He tried to ignore them but they just kept standing there.

“What?” he questioned annoyed as he looked up at them knowing what they were probably going to ask him. They stood there without saying a word but they shared a look. “Say something or get back to work.”

McGee returned to his desk and left Ziva to the questioning.

Ziva spoke up, “How is Tony, honestly?”

Still annoyed he stated, “He might feel better if we catch these people, David.” She could take a hint that he was in no mood for a conversation so she returned to her desk. Realizing he had been short with her, Gibbs got up and walked over to her desk.

“DiNozzo is having some difficulties. He should be able to return to work to assist in the case as a witness but not as an agent until his psych evaluation comes back as cleared for duty.” Gibbs then turned and walked over to the elevator to go see Abby.

**Abby's Lab**

“Abs?”

“In here.” She called from her office.

“Anything new on the case?”

“Nothing more then what I have already told Ziva.” She claimed with a smile.

“She only told me you had two partial prints.”

“And that is all I have. I am still searching databases but still no match.” Abby said looking back at her computer screen.

“Well try harder.” He stated as he starting walking out of the lab.

“Gibbs?” she asked and he reentered the lab.

“How is he?”

“Fine.” With that he left to go back upstairs.

When he returned, he found Ziva and McGee in front of the plasma once again. He stood on the sidelines watching them discuss the case. He looked over at DiNozzo’s empty desk and he felt a sudden sadness fall over him. He would go to any length to find his abductors. Gibbs walked over to them and in a very tired strained voice said, “Great work, you two. I believe it would do us all some good to go home and rest.”

“You sure, Boss?” McGee inquired as he looked in the direction of Ziva.

“Yeah.” Gibbs replied as he walked towards the elevator. They both walked towards their desks.

Both McGee and Ziva hesitated from behind their desks, it was not very often that Gibbs gave them a night off so deep in the middle of a case especially when it involved one of their own.

Gibbs glanced back to the squad room where he saw hesitation in his team. Turning back to the elevator with a smirk on his face in his best Gibbs voice he said, “I can assign cold cases if you wish to stay.” He heard them quickly come up behind him to leave for the night.

Gibbs left NCIS and headed towards the hospital to pick up DiNozzo. After picking him up they went to DiNozzo’s apartment for a few things before proceeding to Gibbs’ house. As they entered the house, Gibbs went to the kitchen to grab a beer for him and DiNozzo. He returned to find him still standing in the middle of the living room. “DiNozzo, what are you doing still holding your bag. You know where the spare bedroom is.”

“I know, boss.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“I just feel like I am putting you out. The other time I stayed here was because my apartment was being worked on. I just think I would be better off at home.”

“I would rather have you stay with someone then be alone. We still have no idea who did this and everyone, both NCIS and FBI, are on high alert in case it happens again. Anybody could be their next victim.” 

DiNozzo understood he left to put his things away. Once he returned, Gibbs informed him of everything about the investigation. They both agreed that tomorrow DiNozzo would go back to work as a visitor to assist only. He still needed to be cleared from his psych evaluation before he could go back on duty.

**Tuesday, August 21**

“DiNozzo, would you stop fidgeting?”

“Sorry, boss. I’m just excited to get back in the squad room.”

“Yeah, well remember you’re here to assist as a visitor.”

“Right, boss.”

The elevator doors opened and they walked into the squad room. DiNozzo was a little sad to find his team members were nowhere to be found. As they walked over to Gibbs’ desk, he pointed to a spare seat next to his desk, “Sit.” DiNozzo did as he was told. McGee and Ziva walked in with Abby following shortly behind. “Tony!” she yelled as he stood up to receive her enthusiastic hug. Upon her release on him, he turned to receive a hug from Ziva and a handshake from McGee as he asked him how he was. But the pleasantries were interrupted by Fornell and two FBI agents crossing the room to Gibbs’ desk. Ziva and McGee returned to their desks while DiNozzo sat down with Abby standing next to him. Gibbs stood from his chair to greet Fornell. “What brings you to NCIS, Tobias?”

“Nothing good, Jethro. We decided to search the whole warehouse district and you're not going to like what we found.” Fornell took a slow small sip from his coffee leaving Gibbs and his team in suspense.

He raised one eyebrow while glaring at Fornell, “Should I guess or are you going to fill me in?”

“In another warehouse, six warehouses down from where we located Agent DiNozzo, we found two dead men. We brought them here for your Medical Examiner to examine them and hopefully shed some light on what is going on. My team is still searching other warehouses to see if we missed anything.”

“Thanks, Tobias. We’ll take it from here. I’ll call you.” Gibbs turned to head down to Autopsy.

Fornell and his FBI companions left to return to the warehouse district.

**Meanwhile down in Autopsy. . . .**

Ducky was working on the two bodies the FBI just delivered. He saw similarities in their injuries with that of DiNozzo’s. Ducky took blood samples from both victims and fingernail scrapings in hope that they may have fought their abductors. While Palmer took the DNA samples to Abby, he started the autopsy on the first victim. He noticed that deep in the abdomen area there was a pool of blood. He found similar findings in the second victim. Just then Gibbs entered autopsy “Hey Duck.”

“Jethro.” Answered Ducky as he ladled blood out of the abdomen.

Gibbs came to stand next to him at the table, “What did you find?”

“I find myself to have more questions than answers at the moment. The only thing I know for certain is that they both died from internal bleeding. By the look of things, it seems that these two gentlemen died about two to three days ago. I sent blood samples to Abby to ID the victims. I also took fingernail scrapings to see if we can get any other DNA to hopefully identify our abductors .”

“Thanks, Duck.” Gibbs quickly rushed to Abby’s lab.

**Abby’s Lab. . .**

Gibbs swiftly entered the lab, “Hey, Abs.”

She turned around upon hearing her boss enter, “Gibbs. You’re early. I just started the analysis on the blood and fingernail scrapings.”

“Let me know when you have the results.”

“I always do.”

“I know.” He kissed her on the cheek before exiting the lab. From the lab, he returned back to the squad room. He knew until Abby had results the case was pretty much at a standstill.

DiNozzo could see the defeated look on his leader’s face. Not a common look on Gibbs’ face. He wished that he could assist more with identifying the abductors. A thought occurred to DiNozzo and he excused himself to use the restroom but instead went down to Abby’s lab. He was hoping that she could assist him with recalling anything that his subconscious picked up while he was in the warehouse. She helped both McGee and Palmer before with their memories maybe she could help him.

“Abs?” asked DiNozzo as he entered the lab looking for her.

“Hey T-man, what can I do for you?” She pointed her fingers at him.

He leaned on her desk, “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“Anything. Name it.” She said

“I really want to help out with the investigation but I seem to be having a hard time with recalling anything. I know that I was under sedation for most of the time I was abducted but I am hoping that my subconscious may have been heightened and picked up on something like a voice or a name. “

“I see where you’re going with this. You want to use sensory therapy to see if you can recall anything. That’s brilliant, Tony. But is that safe to do while you’re still recovering.”

“I have too. I need to feel useful. So, are we going to do this or what?”

“Absolutely. When would you like to do it?”

“Are we able to do it now?” he said with his charming DiNozzo grin.

“Ummm . . . . I am working on some stuff now, but come back down before you leave today and we will try something.”

He nodded and headed out of the lab to go back upstairs.

The rest of the day went sort of normal. It involved looking at evidence over and over again. Showing DiNozzo the surveillance footage. Abby received results back from the blood samples of the two men that Fornell brought in; they were two petty officers on leave and currently MIA. DiNozzo had been antsy all day to get back down to Abby’s lab. When he noticed, everyone occupied with looking into the two petty officers he snuck out of the squad room and down to the lab. He found Abby in her office laying out a cot.

“Hey. I’m almost done with setting up the space. I downloaded some medical noises like the beeping from a heart monitor and clanging of medical instruments. I also borrowed some rubbing alcohol and antiseptic from Ducky. Now, I just need you to lie down and let me work my magic.”

He complied and laid down on the cot. She started by putting him into a slight hypnosis and once she was sure he was hypnotized she started up the medical sounds and placed the smells in front of his face every couple of minutes. After about 15 minutes of doing this, he did not seem too fazed. He would groan every now and then but there was no struggle or panic. It was right before she decided to wake him that he started talking. “Gibbs. . . . .find. . . .hurry. . . .please.” DiNozzo inaudible whispered. His right hand also gravitated towards him abdomen and he let out a small moan. Abby’s heart nearly broke hearing those words and she felt bad for all that he went through. She woke him up.

He blinked his eyes open and slowly sat up, “So did anything happen?”

She contemplated on telling him or not, “You just had a lot of rapid eye movement and groaned every now and then. Did you remember anything?”

“No.” he sighed.

Gibbs walked in. “Abby?”

Upon hearing Gibbs's voice, Abby turned the sounds off and DiNozzo stood up off the cot.

“In here, Gibbs.” replied Abby.

“Have you seen, DiNozzo?”

“I’m right here, boss.”

Gibbs entered the room they were in to see a cot, a blanket, a pillow, and a tray with two clear cups full of cotton balls, “What are you doing, DiNozzo?”

DiNozzo followed Gibbs' gaze around the room, “I was hoping that Abby could help me with my lost memory.”

“Well, we’re done for the day. Let’s go.” Gibbs headed towards the elevator. DiNozzo hugged Abby and thanked her.

“DiNozzo!”

DiNozzo ran out of Abby's office, “on your six, boss.”

The car ride back to Gibbs’ was a silent one. Once they entered the house, Gibbs went down to the basement and DiNozzo headed into the kitchen. After dinner, he headed to the basement.

DiNozzo stepped through the door onto the landing and leaned against the railing, “Boss?”

“Yeah.” replied Gibbs as he looked up towards his senior field agent.

"I was wondering if I could visit the warehouse where you found me?”

Gibbs gave no response.

"Boss?"

Gibbs sighed knowing he'd have to give an answer, “Not a good idea.”

“What, Why?”

“You're not ready.”

“I believe that is my decision. I want to help with the investigation. If you don't take me then I will ask Fornell to.”

DiNozzo turned on his heels to leave the basement and go to bed.

Gibbs stayed in the basement thinking over DiNozzo’s request to visit the warehouse. He saw several pros and cons but needed to sleep on the decision.

**Wednesday August 22**

On their way to the Navy yard, DiNozzo noticed they were taking a different route.

“Where are we going, boss?”

“Taking you to the warehouse.”

They pulled up to find it covered in police tape and FBI vans were all over the place still searching the grounds.

They got out of the car and walked up to the warehouse. Gibbs unlocked the door, DiNozzo entered first. He was hoping that maybe being there would jog anything in his memory. He came to stand in the center of warehouse and closed his eyes. He heard basic muffled noise from the area, like traffic, sounds of the ocean, and metallic sounds from the warehouse. The air was filled with smells but none that helped. When he opened his eyes, Gibbs was standing in front of him. He let out a very involuntarily sigh and thought to himself how lucky he was to have someone in his life that cared for him enough that he would go to great lengths to find him.

“Anything?”

“Sor. . . .Ahem, no nothing.”

“Let’s go then.”

They exited the warehouse, got in the car, and headed to the Navy yard.

Nothing had really changed in the case, which was both good and bad. Bad in the sense that they were no closer to catching who did this and good in the sense that the FBI did not find any new bodies after searching all the warehouse buildings. After a very long day of still getting nowhere, it was time to go home.

Once again, they drove in silence. DiNozzo has learned over the years that Gibbs does his best thinking in two places: the car and his basement.

DiNozzo did not feel like eating tonight so he watched a little television and Gibbs of course was downstairs. Not really wanting to disturb Gibbs, DiNozzo walked over to the doorway and called down. “Heading to bed, boss.” He did not wait for a response and headed off to bed. A couple hours later, Gibbs turned in as well, he was just starting to fall asleep when he heard DiNozzo stirring.

DiNozzo found himself awake after a few hours of sleep. He tossed and turned for a while. Something was bothering him but he was not quite clear on what it was. He got up and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. As he headed out of the kitchen with his glass of water, he noticed Gibbs asleep on the couch. He stood there admiring his boss, his friend. He wondered if Gibbs knew just how thankful he was that he was in his life. He chuckled to himself when he thought about all the times Gibbs had saved his ass or was there for him. He had always admired Gibbs but as of lately he found himself growing beyond simple admiration. He never told anyone this but he considered himself to be Bisexual. Within the last year or two, Gibbs had made it on his radar. He found himself attract to Gibbs and wanting more than a friendship with him.

As far as he knew Gibbs did not share the same feelings but then again there was a lot that Gibbs does not share about his life; he is very private. He was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar voice, “Go back to bed, DiNozzo.”

DiNozzo laughed nervously, “Sorry, boss.”

“mm-hmm” Gibbs muttered in response as he changed positions on the couch.

**Thursday, August 23**

It had been almost a week since DiNozzo was found after being abducted and today was his least favorite day. Today was his psych evaluation. It was standard procedure by federal law that all federal agents need to be cleared before they could return to work. He was not worried about passing his evaluation he just disliked being analyzed by people. Even though he did enjoy talking about himself, it was a catch 22 really. He hoped that by using his usual DiNozzo charm the evaluation would be quick. As Gibbs and DiNozzo walked in to the squad room, the psychiatrist was waiting for him. DiNozzo sighed while walking over to his desk to put his things down.

“Ahh, DiNozzo. I know you dislike this but the faster you do this the faster I get my best agent back.” Gibbs said with a smirk on his face as he patted his back then retreated to his own desk. Gibbs sat down as he watched DiNozzo walk away with the psychiatrist and hoped that it would not open up a can of worms.

DiNozzo and the psychiatrist walked into the conference room and sat down opposite of each other.

“Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.”

He interrupted her, “Call me Tony, please.” Then flashed her a smile.

“I am Dr. Anderson. I am going to ask you a couple of questions regarding your abduction. Looking at your file, I can tell that you are not new to evaluations. So I will not spend any time explain the procedure. Shall we get started?”

He shook his head in agreement, “But only if I can ask you questions in return. It seems only fair.”

Dr. Anderson ignored him and continued with the evaluation. “Since the abduction have you found it difficult to go about your daily routine?”

"No."

“Have you had trouble sleeping?”

“No. How about you? Do you have trouble sleeping?” he said with a wink. She ignored the line of question.

“Have your reflexes heightened since the abduction? Do you feel a need to be on high alert all the time?”

“Ok. Look, to save you some time I am just going to tell you what has happened since then. I am as normal as a federal agent can be. Other than not having any memory of what happened, the only thing that was out of character for me was when I attacked the nurse in the hospital. But the attacked was explainable in the sense that it was a day after my abduction. I have been fine since then.”

“Alright then, I guess we are finished here. I will review everything and you should know by the end of the day, if you're cleared or not. Do you have any questions, or concerns?”

“Yeah, I have a question. Would you like to get coffee sometime?”

“I am sorry but I don’t date patients.” She excused herself from the conference room to go over her notes and file her report. DiNozzo headed back downstairs to join his teammates. He entered the squad room as Gibbs was asking McGee a question.

“McGee, have you found anything on the footage the FBI sent you?”

“Yes.” replied McGee.

“What did I miss?” inquired DiNozzo upon his return.

Ziva informed him,“The FBI found two other security cameras while searching the warehouse district. But the cameras were from across the street.”

McGee proceeded to answer Gibbs question, “The footage covers the street pretty well but unfortunately the abductors used the south entrance so they're not on the footage.”

“Keep looking, McGee. There has to be something we missed. The FBI already looked at it and couldn't find anything. They sent it to us to be reevaluated.” Gibbs returned to his desk.

Ziva followed DiNozzo to his, “How did your psych evaluation go?”

“Oh. You know the usual. They just want to make sure I am not going to turn into some psycho killer.” he replied sarcastically.

While McGgee kept looking through the footage, DiNozzo, Ziva, and Gibbs rehashed over evidence. They started with the basics, the things they already knew. They knew that so far there are two suspects doing the abductions, they are targeting men 35 years old or younger who are in the military or possibly working for the government, and all the abductors steps were very well planned and thought out. Next, they looked at other evidence like the medical equipment that was confiscated during DiNozzo’s rescue and theorized what they could be using it for. They thought about the reason behind using the warehouse district for these abductions, it seemed cliché.

After working on different hypotheses and McGee getting nowhere with the current surveillance footage Gibbs sent everyone home.

The usual routine tonight was a little different at Gibbs’s house. He did not go down to the basement as usual. Instead, he and DiNozzo ate dinner together then watched a television show. DiNozzo enjoyed spending time with Gibbs outside of work. He wasn't sure what sparked the new routine but he thought maybe this was Gibbs' way of letting him know that he was there if he needed to talk; he usually went easy on his agents after their psych evaluations. They went to their respectful beds when the television show ended.

A few hours later, Gibbs got up to use the restroom. On his return, back to the living room he saw the spare bedroom door ajar. He walked over to close it but instead found himself watching DiNozzo sleep. Like a parent would watch a sleeping child but DiNozzo was so much more to Gibbs than anyone knew. It was a secret for him to keep; a need to know which in this case no one did. 

He never thought about having another relationship with anyone after his last marriage. It was obvious, in his mind, that nobody could replace Shannon. He loved Shannon and Kelly more than life itself. But as of recently, he noticed something different within himself. He started have feelings towards DiNozzo that went beyond friendship. He, of course, would never tell DiNozzo that. DiNozzo was a ladies man. He spent many years hearing about DiNozzo's sexual conquests.

He silently watched DiNozzo sleep and wondered how nice it would be to sleep next to him. It was at this moment, that Gibbs noticed him starting to stir so he stepped away from the door hoping that he had not been seen. He stood there for a second next to the door with his back to the wall. When he heard DiNozzo sleep talking, “No. . . please stop. . . .help. . . .” He looked into the room to see DiNozzo restless; tossing and turning in his bed. Gibbs’ heart ached at his agent’s suffering.

“Gibbs!” yelled DiNozzo as he sat upright in bed panting from his nightmare. Gibbs came rushing into the bedroom to be by his side. Gibbs realized that DiNozzo was sweating in fear upon sitting next to him on the bed.

“I am right here, DiNozzo. You’re okay.” Gibbs gave comfort. DiNozzo embraced him in a hug and Gibbs wrapped his arms around DiNozzo in comfort, “Tony, what happened?”

DiNozzo’s ears perked, Gibbs rarely called him Tony. “Recurring nightmare about my abduction.” DiNozzo broke the hug and assured Gibbs that he was fine and laid back down. He left the guest bedroom but didn't go far; he ended up sleeping outside the bedroom.

**Friday August 24**

The investigation was at a standstill and felt like it was affecting his team in different ways. Sometimes it is best to step back and gather yourself in situations like that. After seeing DiNozzo like that last night he knew he had to do something. So, he called everyone on his team and gave them a day off if they wish to have one. It was 0900 and DiNozzo was still asleep. Gibbs was down in the basement working on the boat while thinking about DiNozzo’s nightmare and the investigation. After an hour, he headed back upstairs to refill his coffee cup and found DiNozzo in the kitchen. “Morning, boss. Thanks for letting me sleep in, I think I needed it.” Gibbs refilled him cup and sat down at the kitchen table. He watched DiNozzo finish making breakfast. “I made eggs, there is plenty left over help yourself, if you want.” He said as he buttered his toast. Gibbs nodded in acknowledgement.

DiNozzo brought his plate to the table, “You better hurry and eat so we can get to work. We are already two hours late.”

Gibbs took a sip of his coffee, “We are not going in today.”

DiNozzo took a bite of his breakfast, “Why? We going to the warehouse again? Did Fornell find something?”

Gibbs took a piece of toast off of DiNozzo's plate, “Nope. Gave everyone the day off.”

DiNozzo looked at Gibbs in surprise, “You feeling okay, boss?”

“Yeah, DiNozzo. Why?”

“We are in the middle of an important investigation. You usually make us work around the clock. I have noticed lately that we have been released at a decent time and now we get a day off.” DiNozzo reaches into his pants and takes his cellphone out.

“Who are you calling?”

“Ducky because I am pretty sure you’re coming down with something.” DiNozzo scrolls through his phone looking for Ducky's number.

“Oh. That reminds me I got your results back from your evaluation you are cleared for duty. So if you really want to work today, I guess I could assign some cold cases to you.”

“On second thought, a day off might do me some good.” DiNozzo finished eating breakfast then headed to the living room to watch some tv. Gibbs retreated back down to the basement. DiNozzo felt his eyes getting heavy as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

_He found himself laying on a cold metal table in the distance he heard voices. From the sound of it, two men. They approached him while deep in conversation. As they stood over him, he realized he could not move. He looked up into their faces but their identities were being hidden by surgical masks. one face he did not recognized but the other had familiar blue eyes. As the doctor, who he did not recognize, picked up a scalpel to start surgery. He looked to the one with familiar eyes and discovered it to be Gibbs. In a frightened state, he tried to move, get away, or yell for help. Instead, he stared up into Gibbs’s eyes pleading for help when Gibbs pulled his mask down and shook him by the shoulders, “DiNozzo. . . . .DiNozzo. . . .wake up.”_

DiNozzo woke to find Gibbs calling his name and shaking him. He sat up and wiped his hands over his face. He felt sick to his stomach.

“You okay, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked.

But as he opened his mouth to tell Gibbs about his dream he closed it. With a hand over his mouth, he ran to the restroom to empty the contents of his stomach. Gibbs rushed after him to make sure he was okay. Gibbs handed him a glass of water to rinse his mouth out and a towel. Once DiNozzo was sure he could talk without throwing up he told Gibbs about his dream. They specualted what his dream meant. Gibbs started wondering if may be the psych evaluation was causing a relapse in DiNozzo. They spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking about the case and DiNozzo’s dream.

**Saturday August 25**

DiNozzo woke feeling much better than he did yesterday aside from a little abdominal cramping. He went into the living room to watch the news while he put his shoes on. He entered the kitchen to find Gibbs grabbing coffee when something caught both their ears, _**“There is still no news about the FBI agent that has been missing since yesterday afternoon. . . .”**_ They both moved into the living room to stand in front of the television. _“**. . . .FBI Agent Thomas Wilson was official reported missing this morning after his whereabouts were unknown at 10:30 pm last night. He was investigating a case with another federal agency about military service men going missing.”**_

Gibbs’ cellphone rang. “Watching it right now, Tobias. What the hell happened and why am I hearing about this now from a news reporter?” DiNozzo stood there in shock and had not realized that Gibbs was already outside on his way to the car. Gibbs came back into the house, “Come on DiNozzo, let’s go.”

When they arrived in the squad room, Fornell was already there waiting for Gibbs. In a gruff, pissed off voice and through clenched teeth he said, “My office now!” They walked over to the elevator, waited for the doors to close to hit the emergency switch. “Talk.” demanded Gibbs in a rage. Fornell explained how his agent went out to the warehouse district because a tip was called in about some unusual activity. “Why did he go alone when he knew about the investigation?”

“Asked myself the same question.”

“How did ZNN get the story?”

“They saw flashing lights and pulled up to the scene. A probationary agent could not keep his mouth shut. Don't worry, I have already dealt with him.”

Gibbs just sighed wiping his hands down his face and flipped the elevator back in to operational order. The doors opened and they walked out into the squad room. DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee were all waiting for instructions on their next move.

“What’s our next move, boss?” questioned DiNozzo.

Gibbs walked over to McGee's desk, “McGee, is it possible to put up our own surveillance?”

“Yeah.” McGee was a little hesitant in his response not sure he fully understood what his boss was asking, "What are you thinking, boss?"

“I'm thinking live streaming 24/7 in the warehouse district from all angles. I want to catch these bastards once and for all.”

“How do you know they will come back? We've been investigating there for two weeks, they've probably moved on somewhere else."

"Rule 36 and 35, Tobias. They called your agent out their for a reason." Gibbs walked towards the elevators with his team, all geared up, following in tow. Fornell stood in the squad room contemplating what Gibbs had said before he understood and joined them in the elevator.

They all parked a few miles away from the warehouse. McGee and DiNozzo donned on electrician outfits and went undercover as acting electricians so that they could put up cameras and microphones. Gibbs, Ziva, and Fornell sat in the surveillance van to let them know if the cameras needed adjusting. After they were done, they all headed back to NCIS to watch the live feed. It was close to lunchtime and they were technically doing a stakeout, McGee and Ziva decided to order everyone lunch. They both knew how much DiNozzo enjoyed eating during stake outs, Ziva thought it might be good to have some familiarity for DiNozzo.

“How bout we order from the new BBQ place around the corner?” suggested McGee.

“Not kosher.” Ziva stated sarcastically “What do you think, Tony?”

“I think we should just concentrate on the task at hand. We can eat later.”

Everyone looked at DiNozzo in shock. He never turned down food. Once the room grew quite he looked away from the plasma to see that everyone had a different look on their face. McGee was sort of surprised, Gibbs looked concern, and Fornell looked shocked.

“Are you feeling alright, Tony?” Ziva inquired with a puzzled yet suspicious look on her face like he was up to something.

“I agree with Ziva, something is wrong with this picture? You never turn down food.” replied McGee.

“I just think we should be focusing on the case rather than trying to figure out what we should be stuffing our faces with.” said DiNozzo a little tiffed.

After hearing DiNozzo’s response to their inquires, they all looked around at each other. There was a couple minutes of silence before they picked up the conversation again.

“We always eat Chinese during a stakeout.” suggested Fornell after a couple more minutes of discussion, they ended up ordering Chinese.

When the food arrived everyone but DiNozzo gathered around Gibb’s desk to collect their meals. DiNozzo was casually leaning back in his chair staring at the plasma from behind his desk. Gibbs walked over to him with a bag in his hand.

“Eat.”

“Not hungry.”

“Suit yourself.” He left the bag on DiNozzo’s desk. As soon as Gibbs walked back to his desk, DiNozzo glanced over at the bag. Just thinking about the contents made his stomach queasy. It wasn't until the air became thick with the smell of Chinese that his stomach lurched and he found himself running to the restroom. Once he got there, he no longer felt the need to vomit. He had been feeling off all day, it started with the cramps this morning and occasional nausea throughout the day. Not to mention he had been feeling quite fatigued the last couple of days but he figured it was because of his restless nights. As he ran some cold water over his face, he was beginning to wonder if the case was starting to take a toll on him. He thought he was handling it pretty well considering what he had been through. Maybe his body was finally coming out of shocked. His thoughts were being interrupted by the bathroom door opening. DiNozzo already knew who was stepping through the door.

He was still leaning on the sink counter watching the water flow down the drain, “I’m fine.”

Gibbs stood up against the wall behind DiNozzo staring at him in the mirror, “you don’t look fine.”

DiNozzo glanced up in the mirror to see Gibbs standing behind him. He turned around to face him. He watched as Gibbs stared at him in the usual Gibbs fashion where he has a nonverbal communication with you. After a few minutes of what felt like a never ending staring contest, Gibbs spoke.

“Maybe you should think about seeing Ducky.”

DiNozzo turned the water off and walked over to grab a paper towel to dry his face, “I'm fine. I think I’m just over excreting myself when I should be taking it easy.”

Gibbs once again questioned him with his eyes, “I’m relieving you early today. Go get some rest. Take my car, I’ll get a ride home from Fornell.”

DiNozzo looked at him wide eyed. He had never been sent home early before unless he was a suspect or there was conflict of interest. “But boss?”

“That is an order, DiNozzo.” Gibbs stated as he walked out of the bathroom.

DiNozzo followed not too far behind steaming mad. He walked over to his desk grabbed his things and started to head out.

“Where are you going, Tony?” inquired Ziva as she watched him collecting his things.

“Apparently, Gibbs doesn’t think I am well enough to work the case.” DiNozzo said sarcastically pissed off while glancing over at Gibbs. Ziva and McGee looked from DiNozzo to Gibbs.

As he walked to the elevator, Gibbs ran after him to give him his car keys. DiNozzo left without another word.

Once he arrived at Gibbs’, the nausea returned and he decided to lay down for a little bit. He ended up falling asleep and woke up about three hours later. He suddenly found himself starving and he headed to the kitchen to start dinner. While he was making himself dinner, Gibbs came through the front door.

“You're home early.” said DiNozzo still mad from earlier as Gibbs entered the kitchen.

“Fornell was my ride home, remember. It is his weekend with his daughter so he had to leave early. Ziva and McGee stayed to keep watch on the video. I see you have your appetite back.”

“I think I might be coming down with something. Or I am having a weird reaction to the case after my psych evaluation.” DiNozzo unexpectedly double over in pain when he felt a cramp surge through his abdomen.

It took everything for Gibbs not to go over to DiNozzo while he was in pain. “you okay?”

“I'm not sure. That happened this morning but I thought it was just from the night before recouping after I got sick.”

“This has happened before and you didn’t say anything.” Gibbs said irate that this is the first he was hearing about it.

“Yeah.” DiNozzo said in a short tone.

“You need to see a doctor.” Gibbs said sternly

“I’m fine.” said DiNozzo nonchalantly.

Before it turned into an argument, Gibbs retreated to the basement. DiNozzo ate dinner and headed to bed. Meanwhile, Gibbs was in the basement in deep thought. His mind went from what happened upstairs just a few minutes ago to the investigation to DiNozzo then back to the investigation. This investigation was leaving him blindsided and he didn't like it. He felt lost and out of control; not knowing where to turn or where to look. When leading an investigation for him, it was all about focus and running different scenarios. His focus usually sprouted from revenge, determination, righting a wrong, or saving a teammate/family/friend. So far, he already did that with DiNozzo and the case should have ended there. But due to new discoveries, DiNozzo not being able to recall anything, and evidence getting them nowhere; Gibbs was becoming overly frustrated and felt defeated. With each case, he works, he tries very hard to follow his rules and this investigation was making that quite difficult. It was more personal this time than he cared to admit and he found his feelings harder to control. Every time he thought about DiNozzo and his abduction he could feel rage building in his chest and wants nothing more than to make these people suffer. He cares for all of his team members as though they were flesh and blood. But when it comes to DiNozzo everything changes even more so now with his feelings become stronger. After hours of contemplation, he decided to put his thoughts to rest and headed to bed.

**Sunday, August 26**

DiNozzo awoke in a panic realizing he had slept in. He jumped out of bed, dressed and headed out of the bedroom. He found the rest of the house quiet and Gibbs’s bed on the couch made up. He looked out the window to find Gibbs’ car already gone. He grabbed his keys, got in his car and drove to work. He was halfway there when his cell rang, “DiNozzo.”

“Get your butt back to the house.”

“Boss?” he inquired with a scowl.

“You heard me, DiNozzo. I do not want to see you here until Monday.”

DiNozzo closed his cell pissed that Gibbs ordered him back to the house. He decided to keep driving. He was going into work regardless; he never felt better. As he arrived and tried to enter the building he was stopped by security. “Hey fellas, Come on.” DiNozzo said to the security guards. “Sorry, Agent DiNozzo we have direct orders to not allow you in the building.”

“Orders from who?” he demanded while being escorted away from the building.

“Me.” said Gibbs as he walked towards them.

DiNozzo turned around to see Gibbs, “Seriously, Boss. You’re willing to go this far to keep me from doing my job.”

“Yeah. DiNozzo. I am.”

“Come on, Boss. I feel fine.”

“Go home, DiNozzo. That’s an order.” Gibbs said as he headed back into the building

DiNozzo did not like being treated like a child. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. At this point, he had no choice but to go back to the house.

**Meanwhile at NCIS. . . .**

“I gave DiNozzo the day off. Knowing him, he is going to call each and every one of you to discuss the case. I am ordering you not to discuss it with him. He needs a day to relax.”

Abby, Ducky, Ziva, and McGee all nodded their heads in agreement. Both Abby and Ducky returned to their labs while Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee went back to watching their live footage from the warehouse district. So far nothing happened, no vans, no people in masks, and no strange activity. The rest of the day went by slowly; around six everyone called it a day and went home.

He got home to find DiNozzo asleep on the couch. He went to the kitchen to reheat the coffee from this morning. He stood there looking out the kitchen window enjoying his coffee and thinking when he saw DiNozzo’s reflection in the window entering the kitchen.

DiNozzo rested up against the counter next to Gibbs, “Any new evidence on the case?”

“Nope.” replied Gibbs still staring out the window.

“Mind if I join you for coffee?”

“Nope.” Gibbs grabbed a clean coffee cup from the cabinet and handed it to DiNozzo. As he did their hands grazed, a spark ignited and they both felt it without revealing to the other. At the touch, they both looked down at the cup then back up at each other. Gibbs withdrew his hand so fast he was unsure as to whether or not DiNozzo had a good grip on the cup. DiNozzo placed it on the counter and started to fill it with coffee. Neither acknowledged the sudden feelings they were both having or what just happened between the two of them. The question now was who was going to be the first to say or even do something about it. The moment passed by and awkwardness set in. “Coffee is good.” DiNozzo said trying to clear the awkwardness. “it’s coffee.” replied Gibbs.

“As angry as I was that you gave me the day off. I must admit that I needed it. I've been feeling really fatigued lately. I brushed it off as just a side effect due to the nightmares but now I am not so sure.”

Gibbs stared at him with his usual Gibbs look of 'I told you so'.

“So, Are you going to tell me anything about the case today?”

“Nothing to tell, DiNozzo. We watched surveillance all day.”

“Okay, fine. Can I ask then what our next move is?”

“Wait it out.”

“You're not much of a waiting man. You're more like a man of action.”

Gibbs said nothing more. He put his coffee cup in the sink and headed off to bed. DiNozzo finished his coffee and did the same. They both slept restless and DiNozzo woke up to another nightmare. This time he dreamt that they found the FBI agent but could only have the agent in exchange for himself.

**Monday, August 27**

They both awoke for work crabby. Once they got to the office, it didn't get better. As of 0730, the cameras stopped working at the warehouse district. McGee had already left to fix them while Ziva reviewed the footage they recorded that night. During the day, they watched the footage live and at night around 1900 the cameras were programmed to record until 0600. On top of fatigue, DiNozzo was experiencing nausea again and a small cramp here and there which felt more like a pulled stomach muscle. All throughout, the day his nausea came and went. Sometimes it was really bad, other times it was not noticeable till he caught a whiff of something like food. He attributed it to his nightmare from last night.

It wasn't until he stood up to use the restroom that he realized something else must be going on. He stood up from his desk took a step then held on to the corner as he felt the room start to spin. “Umm. . .boss?” was all he could get out before everything went black. Gibbs looked up just in time to see DiNozzo start to fall. He rushed over to DiNozzo but Ziva beat him to it.

Next thing, DiNozzo knew he was waking up in autopsy. “I knew it. I died.” He whispered to himself.

“No, my dear boy you are quite alive.” He heard Ducky say as he approached the autopsy table. Ducky helped him sit up on the table. “You’ve given everyone quite a scare, Anthony.”

DiNozzo saw everyone standing in autopsy looking at him and decided to pull a Wizard of Oz connotation. “I had the strangest dream. Ziva you were there, McLion you were there, Ducky you were there, and Gibbs you were there too.” He said as he pointed to everyone. Nobody was amused by DiNozzo’s efforts to lighten the mood of what had happened.

Gibbs walked over to him, “DiNozzo, what happened?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not sure. I just remember standing up then blacking out.”

Ducky enlightened everyone on DiNozzo's ailment, “I think I can explain, gentlemen and lady. It seems that Anthony here fainted.”

DiNozzo scoffed, “Fainted. DiNozzo’s don’t faint.”

“What caused it?” Gibbs inquired.

“Not sure, Jethro. But I do advise him to go see a doctor.” Ducky replied.

Gibbs gave DiNozzo a look then walked out of autopsy. Mcgee and Ziva were not far behind him.

“What do you think is wrong with me, Ducky?”

“I am sure it is nothing, Anthony. Probably stressed brought on by the case. If I were you, I would see a doctor as soon as I was able.”

DiNozzo nodded in acknowledgement with Ducky that he should probably make an appointment.

**Wednesday, August 29**

Tuesday was a very uneventful day. In fact everything seemed to be pretty normal. DiNozzo had no more symptoms after what happened on Monday. Still nothing on the surveillance video. The day ended and the night continued like usual, Gibbs in the basement and DiNozzo upstairs watching TV.

Today was Wednesday and just when everyone thought it was going to be a boring day something showed up on the surveillance video. It was 1300 when a black van pulled up to one of the warehouses.

“Umm. . .Boss, are you seeing this?” inquired McGee.

Gibbs looked up from his computer to see two guys get out of the van. Without a second thought, Gibbs told them to grab their gear and they rushed over to the warehouse district.

They pulled in through the south entrance and parked their car a few warehouses down. They got out and stealthy made their way to the warehouse where the van was parked. Ziva and McGee went around back. DiNozzo and Gibbs took the front. Gibbs looked into the warehouse, there were two people inside. Gibbs flung open the door and told them to surrender but as usual they fought back with bullets.

DiNozzo and Gibbs ducked for cover behind some crates. Upon hearing the shots, Ziva and McGee came in the back door. Still firing their weapons they fled the warehouse with Ziva, McGee, DiNozzo, and Gibbs hot on their heels. One of the perps made it to the van and drove off while DiNozzo and Gibbs chased after the other. Ziva and Mcgee ran towards their vehicle to chase after the van. DiNozzo was gaining on the other perp with Gibbs not far behind. Just as DiNozzo reached out to grab the guy a sensation tore through him; it felt as if his stomach muscles were being ripped apart. He hit the ground on his knees in agonizing pain clutching his stomach. “DiNozzo!” Gibbs yelled as he saw his agent fall. His heart dropped to his stomach as he watched his agent fall thinking the worst, that DiNozzo had been shot. Gibbs came up next to him.

“Forget me, catch him.” Gibbs was torn he wanted so badly to help DiNozzo but at the same type wanted to catch the perp. So he made the difficult decision and kept running. Just as Gibbs caught up to him, the van pulled up and he jumped in. Gibbs fired his gun but didn't do much damage. It was at this moment, he remembered that DiNozzo was still on the ground. As he was reaching DiNozzo. Ziva and Mcgee pulled up next to them. “DiNozzo. . . .you okay?” Gibbs inquired out of breath. DiNozzo was now on his hands and knees from the original position he was in. Through his groans of agony he managed “Don’t know. . .my. . .stomach. . . .hurts.”

“McGee help me get him into the car.” They moved to lift DiNozzo up off the ground.

As they grabbed his arms trying to help him up, DiNozzo let out a painful moan and slightly muffled scream. “Stop. . .can’t move. . .let go of me. . .” They both let go.

“We have to get to the hospital.” Gibbs gave a nod to McGee to grab DiNozzo. “On my count, McGee. One. . two. . three.” They grabbed him and put him in the backseat of the car. Ziva sped to the hospital with McGee in the passenger seat and Gibbs in the back with DiNozzo.

Once they arrived at the hospital, DiNozzo was rushed off to the emergency room. Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee waited in the waiting room for news. DiNozzo was in excruciating pain; he laid on his side in a fetal position afraid to move because of the pain. The doctors hooked him to machines, drew blood, and performed other tests to figure out was wrong. They administered pain meds which helped a lot. After DiNozzo relaxed a little bit, Dr. Lee came out to talk to Gibbs with Ziva and McGee listening next to him. Dr. Lee told Gibbs that after looking at everything there seemed to be no reason for DiNozzo to be in such pain. He hoped the blood tests would shed some light on DiNozzo's condition but unfortunately they would have to wait on that due to back ups at the lab. Dr. Lee felt that DiNozzo could be released with pain meds and bed rest. An hour later, DiNozzo was released and they all went back to NCIS.

Ziva and McGee started looking at surveillance to see if they caught anything they missed while they were there. While they did that Gibbs took DiNozzo back to the house. He helped him into the house, down the hallway, and into bed. Gibbs was getting water for DiNozzo when Ziva called.

“Gibbs.” He answered as he walked into DiNozzo’s room.

“Gibbs, you are going to want to see this.” she responded.

“Be right there.” He closed his phone. “ZIva thinks we may have caught something on video. Be back as soon as I can.”

Gibbs headed out before DiNozzo could protest on the fact that he was a grown man and he could take care of himself. He didn't need a babysitter. On his way back to NCIS, Gibbs found himself in deep thought about DiNozzo, his health, and of course the case. One thing he found hard to shake from his mind was the way he had been feeling about DiNozzo, as of lately. His thoughts kept revisiting the other day when their hands grazed one another. The last time he felt a spark like that was when he first met Shannon. Gibbs would never act on his feelings though especially with DiNozzo because he knew it would be pointless. He ended his thoughts when he realized he was already arriving at the Navy Yard.

“What do we have, McGee?” Gibbs questioned as he entered the squad room.

“Ziva and I reviewed the 25 minute footage from the time we left here and right as we appeared on scene.”

“And, McGee?”

“It seems that one of the perps was a little careless. We have him getting out of the van and removing his mask before he enters the warehouse. But right before he enters, he looks over his left shoulder. Abby may be able to identify him from the partial profile.”

“Send it down to Abby.”

“Already did, boss.”

“Good work, McGee.” Gibbs then left to go down to Abby’s Lab.

**Meanwhile at Gibbs’ house. . . .**

After taking a short nap, DiNozzo woke furious with himself that he is in this situation. He should have known better than to push himself and he should have gone to the doctor like everyone told him to. Now his is stuck on bed rest for a little while and missing out on all the action. While he laid in bed, he thought back to earlier today and how concerned Gibbs had been. Sure, Gibbs shows concern for the rest of the team when things go awry but this time it was different. He could not exactly pinpoint why it was different; he just knew it was. His thoughts then turned to what happened the other day with the coffee mug. He knew he felt something that day and thought maybe Gibbs did to but didn't understand how that could be. He knew Gibbs was a straight as they came. But then again Gibbs did have secrets when it came to his relationships. He stopped himself. Why were his thoughts turning to these silly notions? Maybe his pain meds were making him feel a little too good. Then he started thinking that maybe spending too much time at Gibbs' house was causing him to think strange thoughts and feel things that weren't there on Gibbs' end. More like he wanted to believe that Gibbs felt more for him. But who was he kidding, it was obvious that Gibbs merely saw him as a friend and co-worker. He had been staying here for quite sometime and its not like Gibbs was kicking him out nor begging him to stay. Many thoughts started rushing through is head. A long time of contemplation, he decided that since he was going to be on bed rest for a while it might be better to do it in his own apartment. He was going to take two more pills then sleep a little before packing and heading over to his place.

He woke to his cellphone beeping. He must have really been tired because he discovered the beeping was due to two missed phone calls and not once heard his phone ring. One call was from Gibbs at 1730 the other was from Dr. Lee at 1750. He listened to the voicemail that was left, it was Dr. Lee.

_“Agent DiNozzo, this is Dr. Lee. I am call in regards to your blood test results from earlier today. Please call me back when you get a chance.”_

DiNozzo dialed the number and was put on hold by nursing staff until Dr. Lee could answer his call.

“This is Dr. Lee.”

“Hi, Dr. Lee. This is Anthony DiNozzo. I received your voicemail about my test results.”

“Ahh, yes. Agent DiNozzo. I was wondering if you would be willing to come back in to give us another sample. There seems to be an abnormality and we just want to double check.”

“Sure thing, Doc. I’ll be there in a little bit.” DiNozzo hung up the call and got out of bed to change. He left for the hospital.

While he waited to give another sample of his blood his mind reverted back to everything he thought about earlier. He was trying to decide if he really was ready to go back to his apartment or was he just overthinking everything.He thought about it more. It was definitely time for him to go back to his apartment. Even if he was sick and was put on bed rest was there anything different from being at Gibbs' house alone to being in his apartment alone. Not really. After providing another blood sample and heading back to Gibbs’ to pack his things and head over to his apartment. It really did feel good to be home and in his own bed, maybe this was what he needed to recuperate.

**Thursday, August 30**

Gibbs had been at NCIS all night. He called DiNozzo once around 1730 yesterday to inform him of new discoveries about the case but he did not pick up. He was not worried he figured DiNozzo was probably passed out from the pain meds. It was now 0530 when he left the navy yard and he arrived home to find DiNozzo's car gone. He thought nothing of it, just figured he gone to get some food nearby or refill his prescription. It wasn't until he was inside that he realized something really was amiss. He walked down the hall to use the restroom and when he passed the guest room he noticed that DiNozzo’s clothes were no longer in the closet and his suitcase was gone. Immediately, Gibbs called DiNozzo.

“DiNozzo.” he answered drowsily from being woken up. He nearly dropped the phone when he heard Gibbs yelling at him from the other end.

“Where the hell are you?!”

He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he replied, "Boss? Do you know what time it is?"

"Don’t care. Where are you?"

"I'm in my apartment, why?" responded DiNozzo then he heard a dial tone and he knew he was in for a rude awakening. He just hoped that Gibbs would wait until a decent hour before the tongue lashing started.

Gibbs was on his way over to DiNozzo’s to give him a piece of his mind on how dumb he was for leaving with the abductors were still out and him being sick. Just then his phone rang, he assumed that DiNozzo was calling, “I am on my way over.”

But he heard Fornell's voice respond, “Wow, news sure travels fast but not light speed fast. My missing agent was just dropped off in the parking lot. How did you know?”

“What are you talking about, Tobias?” Gibbs questioned still in a rage over DiNozzo leaving.

“Our missing agent was found barely alive discarded in the front of the FBI building. I was calling to let you know.” Gibbs grunted as much as he wanted to yell at DiNozzo he was still working on a case. He ended the call with Fornell then dialed McGee’s number to tell him to call Ziva and wait at NCIS for further instructions.

**DiNozzo’s apartment. . . .**

DiNozzo woke up on his couch at 0815, he must have fallen asleep while he waited for Gibbs to come bursting into his apartment to lecture him. He got in the shower to get ready for the day and head over to NCIS to see how the case was going. But he saw that he had a missed call from Dr. Lee upon exiting the shower. He returned Dr. Lee's call hoping to hear he had a clean bill of health but was asked that he come back into the hospital to discuss his results in person. After hanging up with Dr. Lee, he finished getting ready and was on his way to the hospital. He entered and headed straight to the nurse’s station.

“Hi there, my name is Anthony DiNozzo. I have an appointment with Dr. Lee.” The nurse paged Dr. Lee while DiNozzo took a seat in the waiting room. He did not have to wait long, Dr. Lee was doing clinical hours in the ER. They walked together to a part of the hospital that seemed to be deserted of staff and patients.

Once they entered the exam room and got situated DiNozzo started the conversation, “Do you give all of your patients special treatment or am I an exception?” he stated while chuckling to himself. “You got me a little worried, Doc. Why so secluded?”

Dr. Lee chuckled in response to DiNozzo’s sarcastic nervous response, “No, not all my patients get special treatment like this.”

“So I am an exception.”

“I must say that your current health state has me quite perplexed.”

“Well, that isn't easing my concern.”

“Before I discuss your results, I would like to perform a test if I may to sort of follow up with the results.”

“Sure thing. What do you need from me?”

“I need you to lie back on the exam table. I am going to take this ultrasound machine and take a look at your abdomen right in the area of your incisions from the abduction.” DiNozzo laid back lifted up his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. Dr. Lee then put some cold gel on his abdomen and then placed the ultrasound wand just below the incisions. DiNozzo lied there waiting for Dr. Lee to say something but all he got was “Hmmms” then he heard him click a couple of buttons. From there Dr. Lee gave him a towel to wipe the gel off his abdomen.

“Well, that test confirmed my speculation.”

“So, are you going to tell me why I am here now that you have done your test?”

“Agent DiNozzo, as a doctor I look to science for answers. But currently, I feel like it may have failed me. If I had not re ran the blood work myself and perform this ultrasound I would never believe the results. As you remember, we performed tests on you before you left the hospital to make sure you were healthy enough to leave.”

“Yes.”

“Your test came back as normal as possible for someone who had been through a traumatic event. Your recent test results from the blood work had a high level of a certain hormone. At first, I thought the lab tech messed up that is why I asked for a second sample. The hormone also showed up the second time around but not as high. Which is why I wanted you to come in, so I could perform the ultrasound test to confirm my own suspicions. The hormone found in your blood is HCG. It makes sense that we did not see it until now because the levels of this hormone get higher the further along it is in your system.” Dr. Lee took a breath and glanced at the ultrasound monitor and continued, “As a doctor, I never thought I would every utter these words to a man especially in my life time but the results are undeniable.” As he turned the ultrasound screen around to face DiNozzo he saw it displayed a black circular blob and inside that blob was another blob that was white and about an inch to an inch and half long. “Congratulations, you're pregnant.”

It took DiNozzo a minute or two before he burst out laughing, “Good one, Doc. Who put you up to this? McGee? Ziva?” he continued to laugh but stopped when he realized that Dr. Lee was not finding this amusing.

“Believe me, DiNozzo. If I had not done the tests myself I would not believe it either. But I have seen enough pregnancies to know what to look for. Your next question would be to ask me how this is even possible. My answer is, as far as I can tell it is possible but how is it possible is a whole other question that I currently do not have an answer too.” He got up and crossed the room to pull a medical book off the shelve and started to read from it. “. . .symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, cramps, moodiness, fainting. . . .” DiNozzo sat there and let the words wash over him. He had all those symptoms.

At this point, DiNozzo could only utter mumbles of words trying to wrap his head around everything he had just been told, “Preg?. . .Wha?. . .how?. . . .I'm a man.” He looked down at his abdomen.

“When you came in about two days ago with the symptoms that you had. From a medical stand point, told me you were feeling stressed due to everything you had been through. Obviously nothing else crossed my mind until your blood test results and the ultrasound.”

“What happens now? What do I do? What am I going to do about work?” DiNozzo started listing off questions before any answers could be given.

Dr. Lee approached him and rested a hand on his shoulder, “Let’s start with you coming back in a week and we can start looking at how this is even possible. From there, we may be able to figure out the next step. Until then just be yourself and go about your daily life but with a little more caution and awareness.” 

Still in shock DiNozzo headed out of the hospital with unanswered questions and Dr. Lee’s personal cell number in case anything happened. It was now 1030 when he arrived home from his visit with Dr. Lee and his head was still reeling. He went to his bedroom and laid down hoping to fall asleep. He wish to wake and all this be a dream.

**Meanwhile at the FBI. . . .**

Gibbs arrived still angry but he had a job to do. He saw Fornell standing next to the ambulance and approached. “Tell me we have a break in the case?”

“Not sure, Jethro. When he was found this morning, he was unconscious. He woke up about forty minutes. We might have to wait to question him till tomorrow.”

“Like hell we are.” Gibbs jumped up into the ambulance. “Agent Wilson, I’m Agent Gibbs NCIS. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Don’t remember much except that they talked about wanting to do medical experiments on me. Then I awoke during an operation they were performing on me. I heard them having a conversation about how I may not be as healthy as they thought I was and therefore I was no longer a good candidate. The next thing I knew I was waking up here.” Wilson said at a whisper due to his current state.

“Alright, Gibbs that is enough. We can question him tomorrow once he is feeling better.” Fornell informed the paramedics that they could now take Agent Wilson and he would be there later in the day. Fornell turned back to Gibbs, “I am sending protection detail to the hospital so Agent Wilson stays safe and I will call you if anything new arises.”

Knowing that there probably was not anymore Wilson could tell him Gibbs left for NCIS. On his way there, he made a mental note to stop by DiNozzo’s apartment on the way home. He still had unfinished business with him. Once he got to NCIS, he informed Ziva and McGee about Agent Wilson and DiNozzo having the day off. It was 1730 everyone left for the day and Gibbs was on his way to DiNozzo’s place.

**Back at DiNozzos. . . .**

DiNozzo was in the middle of making dinner when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to find Gibbs standing there looking pissed as ever. DiNozzo knew he must have really screwed up for Gibbs to spend all day mad at him.

“You going to let me in, DiNozzo.”

“Don’t have to ask.” DiNozzo stated as he walked back to the kitchen to finish dinner leaving Gibbs standing in the living room with the front door still open.

“You going to tell me why you left?” Gibbs questioned while he shut the front door.

“I felt I had stayed long enough plus I missed sleeping in my own bed. Not that your guest bed was bad. I'm just ready to get back to my own place.” He fixed two plates and brought them to the dinner table. He sat down to start eating while Gibbs stood there silently.

“You going to sit?” He asked Gibbs.

“No. I am waiting for you to explain to me why you left.”

“I told you.” He said through gritted teeth. He was exhausted from his day and did not want to do this right now. Gibbs seemed to want to pick a fight. “If you are not going to stay and eat then you can leave.”

“Damn it, DiNozzo! There was more than one reason for you to stay at my house.!” He yelled.

“Oh, yeah and what was that?!” DiNozzo match Gibbs tone.

“One reason was to keep an eye on you while you recovered and second was protective custody. If you have not noticed your case, is still under investigation!”

“Oh, I am fully aware.!” He pushed his plate away from him.

“An FBI agent went missing just two days ago and showed up today at the FBI building barely alive. Do you still feel like staying here by yourself?!”

“I think I can manage!”

Both too stubborn to stand down from a yelling match, it continued back and forth for a while about the case and the security issue of DiNozzo staying alone in his apartment.

Finally, DiNozzo decided to be the bigger man and state the obvious. “Gibbs, what is this really about? You know that I am one hell of an agent and can defend myself pretty well. Plus, if you think something is going to happen then just send someone to stay with me like we've done before with cases.” Gibbs stood there wishing that DiNozzo would just go home with him but everything DiNozzo said was true so he gave up. He was not quite ready to confess his feelings to DiNozzo.

“Have it your way, DiNozzo.” With that Gibbs let himself out. But he would be damned if he was heading home. Instead he was going to stakeout DiNozzo’s place all night. Gibbs sat out in the parking lot until he saw the lights go off in DiNozzo’s apartment around 2345. Then he headed inside to sit out in the hallway.


	4. Surprise at the door and Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There might be a break in the case and DiNozzo and Gibbs have a connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show.
> 
> Thank you everyone for the Kudos. Sorry the chapter is a little short. I was going to post more within the chapter but this took a lot of editing and there is a lot of information to take in.

**Friday August 31**

At 0430, Gibbs heard a crash from inside DiNozzo’s apartment. He waited but all he heard was silence. He decided it was nothing to act on but then he heard DiNozzo’s voice say, “Freeze. Federal Agent.”

He kicked in the front door and headed towards DiNozzo’s bedroom where he found him with a gun pointed at a person with a ski mask on.

DiNozzo looked at Gibbs in surprise as he burst into his bedroom, “What the hell are you doing here?” He looked back at the intruder then back at Gibbs, “Are you spying on me?”

“Now is not the time to discuss this.” He replied while taking the intruder into custody.

“You're right.” DiNozzo said as he watched him handcuff the intruder and take the ski mask off.

Gibbs pushed the intruder out of DiNozzo’s bedroom and into the dining room where he forced him down into a chair. Gibbs took the seat across from him turning it into a makeshift interrogation room. DiNozzo stood to the right of Gibbs.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at the intruder, “Who are you?”

The intruder gave no response. But he said a lot by lingering a gaze at DiNozzo. Gibbs took note of this.

He continued with his questioning, “Why are you here? Who sent you?”

The intruder never took his gaze off DiNozzo but it did change from looking at DiNozzo’s face to his abdomen. It was starting to make him uncomfortable so he adjusted his position to stand behind Gibbs.

Gibbs turned to look at DiNozzo behind him, “You apparently have his attention. The floor’s yours?”

From his position behind Gibbs, he asked, “Why did you break into my apartment? What do you want with me?”

Still no response and to DiNozzo’s relief the intruder finally stopped looking at him and turned his gaze to Gibbs.

Gibbs' was losing his patience, “You might as well tell us everything because we grow closer every day to figuring out your plan.” This wasn’t exactly true but it was a tactic that Gibbs’s used during interrogation to get suspects to confess by making them think Gibbs already knew the plan.

“You know nothing. I can see it in your face. We have been extremely careful to keep our identities hidden until now. How do you know that catching me is not part of the plan?” the intruder said as he once again glanced over at DiNozzo’s abdomen.

Gibbs stood up, grabbed the intruder and walked out without even saying a word. He left DiNozzo standing in his dining room processing everything that happened. DiNozzo’s cellphone rang a minute later, “You coming or what, DiNozzo?”

“Be right down, boss.”

“Don't forget to pack a bag.” replied Gibbs before he ended the call.

DiNozzo smiled at his subtle request to stay with him. He apartment was no longer secure from Gibbs kicking in the door and the intruder breaking in.

Gibbs went to NCIS while DiNozzo went to Gibbs’ house once again to drop off his stuff and take a shower.

Gibbs took the intruder down to interrogation then returned to the squad room to call in Ziva and McGee.

DiNozzo arrived as Gibbs got off the phone with McGee. He noticed Gibbs making his way over to him as he sat down at his desk.

Gibbs leaned over his desk, “Is there something you want to tell me, DiNozzo?”

“What do you mean, boss?” he replied as he made himself look busy and avoided eye contact. Of course, he knew what Gibbs was getting at but until he was for sure about the pregnancy he was not saying anything to anybody.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice the way that intruder looked at you because I did and I want to know why.”

He tried hard to sound convincing as he replied, “That makes two of us.”

Gibbs looked DiNozzo up and down with a curious look on his face then returned to his desk. It was about 0625 when Ziva and McGee showed up. Gibbs filled them in on everything that had happened. The next step was to fingerprint DiNozzo’s intruder and send those to Abby for analysis. Next step was to let Ziva do her magic and interrogate the intruder. Gibbs, McGee, and DiNozzo watched from the other side of the glass.

“Do we know why he broke into your apartment? ” inquired McGee.

DiNozzo became unintentional defensive by McGee's question, “What's with the third degree, McGee? People’s apartments and houses get broken into all the time.” Gibbs looked at DiNozzo with a curious expression on his face.

“Sorry, Tony.” replied McGee.

"Well, you should." he said acting a little hurt. He couldn't stop himself from acting unusual and he knew very well why.

"I just thought maybe you would have asked him so questions." McGee looked to his boss with a bewildered look on his face due to DiNozzo's emotions.

DiNozzo was going to respond to McGee's statement but Gibbs turned towards him and flashed a look of warning to stay quite.

“We did.” replied Gibbs as he turned his attention back to the interrogation room.

Nothing more was really said between the three of them as they watched Ziva interrogate for about ten minutes. The only thing she managed to get out of him without torture was that a plan was set into motion and there were more out there performing said plan. He also claimed that his capture meant nothing to the others and for all they knew him being captured was part of the plan. He could just be a decoy or a diversion and that maybe he meant to get caught.

He answered no questions unless the line of questioning involved DiNozzo's name but even then his answers were vague and seemed scripted. The question on everyone's mind now was why was DiNozzo a point of interest. When he refused to answer anymore questions, Ziva handed him over to another agent to be put in a holding cell.

Gibbs found himself watching DiNozzo constantly since they came up from interrogation and he noticed a few things. He noticed DiNozzo was quite irritable and moody. He suspected it was due to lack of sleep or the investigation finally taking its toll. Another thing he noticed was DiNozzo’s hand occasional find its way to his lower abdomen. He knew DiNozzo had not been feeling well and attributed it to that. But his gut would not allow him to justify it that way. Something was gnawing at him. He glanced in DiNozzo's direction again while he contemplated everything to find him for the fifth time starting to reach his hand to his abdomen but instead placed it on the desk.

DiNozzo could feel Gibbs watching him from across the way and he quickly placed his hand on his computer desk. He looked in Gibbs direction their eyes met from across the room. DiNozzo gave him a little smile and Gibbs returned it with a hint of one. It had been a nice moment between them. The moment was interrupted by Gibbs' cell going off. “Yeah. Gibbs. Be right down, Abs.” Gibbs left for Abby's lab.

DiNozzo was grateful Abby called when she did. He knew Gibbs had been watching him for quite sometime after his burst out with McGee earlier. He wasn't sure the reason behind the stare from Gibbs but if Abby had not called he was probably going to ask him about his unusual behavior. Maybe he would get a chance tonight to inquire about the stares.

**Abby’s lab**

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab, "What do you have for me, Abs?"

She turned to look at him, "The identity of Tony's intruder."

He stood next to her and looked at her computer, "Who is he?"

"His name is Ethan Mathers. He was released two years ago from prison for selling human organs on the black market and assisting in back alley organ harvesting."

He looked at her, "So why was he breaking into DiNozzo’s apartment?"

“That my dear Gibbs is the unknown..” she said as she made a gesture.

"Thanks, Abs." with a kiss on the cheek he left.

**Back in the squad room**

DiNozzo was reclining in his chair resting his eyes. He had such a headache and he was feeling nauseous again. He peeked out of his left eye when he heard someone approach his desk.

“Are you alright, Tony?” inquired Ziva.

“Fine.” DiNozzo stated snappishly.

“See, Ziva. I told you he was acting strange.” McGee stated as Ziva glanced over at his desk with a look on her face that said now I see what you mean.

“Spreading rumors, are we now McGossip?”

McGee walked over to stand beside Ziva at DiNozzo's desk, “No, Tony. I just told Ziva how you bit my head off in the interrogation observation room.”

“I did not.” DiNozzo stated annoyed.

“Did too.” replied McGee.

"Did not."

McGee now irritated, "Tony, you did too."

But before DiNozzo could rebuttle Gibbs entered the squad room with, “You did too, DiNozzo.”

McGee turned around to face Gibbs, “What did Abby have to say?"

The flat screen had an image of the intruder on it, “Fingerprints came back, our intruders name is Ethan Mathers. We're making him a suspect due to his interest in DiNozzo. He also has a criminal record” Gibbs stated as he sat down at his desk. Upon sitting down he looked over at DiNozzo and noticed that his eyes were closed.

“DiNozzo, go home.”

He opened one eye to look at Gibbs, “Boss?”

“You heard me.”

“You might need my help.”

Gibbs raised his cell phone in the air and placed it back on his desk, "Call you if I need you."

Annoyed DiNozzo grabbed his things and headed out. He was secretly grateful Gibbs sent him home. His headache won't go away and hoped sleep might help. He spent the rest of the day sleeping in Gibbs’s guest room while the other three worked on the case. Ever since he found out about his pregnancy, he now seemed more aware of his symptoms. The vomiting had completely stopped but he still dealt with occasional nausea, fatigue and headaches. He heard Gibbs get home around 2115 when he came to check on him. He pretended to be asleep because he was not feeling up to par to have a conversation with his fearless leader.

**Saturday, September 1**

DiNozzo woke up to the smell of breakfast. He still didn't feel a hundred percent but he was starving. His headache, dulled, but was still there as he got ready for work. He entered the kitchen for breakfast. Gibbs hardly ever made breakfast. DiNozzo saw breakfast as a nice gesture. He found a note next to the coffee pot; it read _**Take the day off**_**_._ **

Gibbs, as of lately, seems to know what he needs and he was thankful for the day off. He went upstairs and changed into lounge clothes. He came back downstairs to grab a plate of food to eat. He hoped eating might help with his headache. He was half way through eating when the nausea kicked in. He glanced down at his abdomen and pushed his plate away, “You’re killing me, kid.” He was so over these symptoms and made a note to talk to Dr. Lee about them.

Breakfast was no longer going to happen. He cleaned up the kitchen then headed to the living room to occupy himself with some tv. DiNozzo was thirty minutes into the show when there was a knock at the door. He headed over to the coat rack next to the door where his gun holster was hanging. He armed himself as he cautiously opened the door.

DiNozzo opened just enough to see who was outside, it was the mailman.

“Sorry sir. You have a package that would not fit in the mailbox.” The mailman said as he handed the box over and returned to his vehicle.

“Thanks.” DiNozzo said as he grabbed the package and shut the door behind him.

He replaced his firearm back in it's holster and took the package to the living room. He placed it on the coffee table to inspect it. The package was a small covered in brown butcher paper and twine. DiNozzo knew that good things rarely came in packages that were wrapped like this. It was addressed to both himself and Gibbs with no return address. He weighed the pros and cons of opening the package without Gibbs. It more than likely pertained to the case and his name was on the package, so he wouldn't be breaking any rules. He needed to know what was inside. He grabbed the pocketknife out of the side table to open the package.

Inside was a smaller box with a note on top that read, '**i****n this box you will find useful evidence to your case**.' DiNozzo carefully opened the box to find an empty vial with a label on it. He picked up the vial and the label read “Leroy Jethro Gibbs.”

He placed the vial back in the box. As he stared at it a million thoughts went through his head. 'Was Gibbs next? What use to be in the vial? Was the evidence going to be used against Gibbs?'

He needed to think rationally about this. He got up from the couch and started pacing the living room to work out his thoughts while occasionally looking at the vial. He started mentally reviewing all the notes from the investigation. As far as anyone knew there was no DNA at any of the crime scenes other than the victims. That is when the thought hit him, the only other DNA he could think of was the baby which meant only one thing.

“No” he said out loud to himself with a scoff in disbelief. How could this be? This is all a trick, a mind game. He would not allow himself to believe that he could possibly be carrying Gibbs' baby. DiNozzo didn't quite know what to think. He didn't know what to feel, what if this was real? It wouldn't be such a bad thing. He was starting to get use to the idea of having a kid and now the possibility of having one with Gibbs was even better. He was jumping the gun a little to early by thinking this way. For one thing, he still hadn't gathered the courage to tell Gibbs about his feelings towards him. He would see if Dr. Lee could do a paternity test. There was no way in hell, he would share any of this information with Gibbs until everything checked out and he had physical proof.

He packed everything back into the box and took it to the guest bedroom where he hid it. Now the hard part was to act normal tonight when Gibbs came home. He had a way of knowing when something was off and he already suspected DiNozzo was hiding something from him. He returned to the couch and put the tv to take his mind of the box in the guest bedroom. It didn't seem to work so he went to the kitchen to make himself a small snack since he skipped breakfast. Now that he thought about it, his nausea had disappeared.

He brought his snack back to the couch and started channel surfing. The tv seemed to be mocking him because every few channels he landed on was a baby commercial. He turned the tv off and laid back on the couch to try to take a nap but instead his mind wandered.

He started contemplating what it would be like to have a child with Gibbs. The scenarios varied from quite family moments like holidays and movie nights to extreme moments like keeping the kid under surveillance due to their crazy life as NCIS agents. He laughed to himself as he pictured a little Gibbs with a gun fighting off bad guys with them. DiNozzo was so deep in thought, he didn’t hear the door open.

Gibbs entered the living room, “What's so funny, DiNozzo?”

DiNozzo sat up alarmed at the sound of Gibbs's voice, “Hey, Boss. Nothing just thought about something I saw on the television.” 

Gibbs took note that the tv was off, “Feeling better?”

DiNozzo flashed a smile at Gibbs, “Much.”

Gibbs took a seat in the armchair, “Good. We need a fresh pair of eyes.”

DiNozzo walked his dishes into the kitchen, “Case still at a standstill.”

Gibbs followed him. “Yup.”

The rest of the night was pretty quite they discussed the case a little bit here and there while they ate dinner. DiNozzo convinced Gibbs to watch a movie with him before they turned in. While Gibbs got the movie ready, DiNozzo made popcorn. They sat down on the couch with the popcorn between them. Halfway through the movie, they both reached into the bowl of popcorn and once again grazed hands; feelings sparked between them. DiNozzo returned to his thoughts from earlier about the baby’s DNA. In that moment, he wanted to tell Gibbs about his feelings for him, the baby, and the package that was delivered. He figured either way, if he told him now or waited, he didn't really see a good outcome from the conversation. They stared at each other caught in the moment of a touch but when Gibbs withdrew his hand the connection broke. DiNozzo decided to wait for as long as he could to tell Gibbs as well as anyone else on the team. As the movie ended, they both headed to bed to start the day early tomorrow.

**Sunday, September 2**

The moment shared last night between Gibbs and DiNozzo involving the popcorn bowl must have sent something into the atmosphere. The sparks flew again this morning while in the kitchen and it continued on at work, there seemed to be no escaping. Not that he wanted to but it was like the universe was hinting at something. The two kept unintentional bumping into each other or accidentally grazing the other's hand or finding themselves locked in prolong eye contact.

First, it started with a graze of hands while reaching to push the button in the elevator. Then a grazing of hands while passing the case file to one another. His favorite moment of the day happened in the restroom, he sat at his desk as he recalled it. The event occurred right before lunch, he went to use the restroom and as he was exiting, Gibbs was heading in. Gibbs stopped him in the doorway to tell him that lunch had arrived; it was at this moment that fate step in. They probably should had moved away from the door before Gibbs announced lunch arrived because another agent came in behind Gibbs and accidentally pushed him into DiNozzo. In order for Gibbs to not completely squish DiNozzo, he put up his hands up to brace himself. DiNozzo now found himself between the wall and Gibbs with centimeters between their bodies and faces. He glanced at Gibbs' lips then back to his eyes where he noticed Gibbs' eyes were drawn to his lips. Desire was becoming evident between them. In fact, there was so much desire happening anyone with in miles could have felt it. They were lost in each other's gaze to notice that they were blocking the entryway of the restroom to those who wish to exit. Their special moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. DiNozzo followed the other agent out of the restroom.

While sitting at his desk enjoying lunch, he wondered if this was fate’s way of saying ‘just tell him already.' He also pondered if things were going to changed between them because he knew that Gibbs was feeling something by the look of his gaze earlier. He sensed desire coming from him. The rest of the day kept on like that with little bumps, grazes, and brushes between them; he was starting to wonder if some of them now were intentional after the bathroom incident.

As their work day came to an end, DiNozzo made up his mind that he was going to relay his feelings to Gibbs. But the universe must have decided on other plans because as DiNozzo reached the elevator, with Gibbs in tow, his cell rang. He answered it as he entered the elevator.

Gibbs could faintly hear the other caller and he intently listened.

“Mr. DiNozzo, this is your landlord. I am calling to let you know that your apartment has been fixed.”

“Thank you.” he hung up and put his phone back in his pocket as he glanced over at Gibbs, “apartment’s fixed.”

Gibbs nodded his head in acknowledgement

“Going home?” Gibbs inquired.

DiNozzo thought he detected a hint of sadness in Gibbs’s voice, “Yup.”

“Rather you stay with me for security reasons.”

DiNozzo smirked discreetly at Gibbs' request. He tried to play it off cool but acting irked by his request, “Am I having Déjà vu? Because I feel like we already had this conversation.”

But Gibbs was all but joking, he too felt sparks all day between him and DiNozzo. His feelings for DiNozzo intensify after the close proximity he had earlier with him. He was ready to confess his feelings but he feared with DiNozzo returning to his apartment he may lose the courage to tell him.

“Dammit, DiNozzo.” He said angrily. DiNozzo looked at him in surprise wide eyed at the sudden unexpected outburst from his boss.

It was DiNozzo’s turn to flip the switch of the elevator, “I know this is not about me returning back to my apartment or the fact that I need to be under protective custody. What is this really about?” he stated very calmly not wanting to start an arguing match but it may be too late for that.

“I’m tired, DiNozzo.” Gibbs said as he looked away from him.

“Tired of what?” DiNozzo inquired.

Gibbs turned to face him and everything sort of came out in an angry rant, “Of everything. I’m tired of this investigation going nowhere, I’m tired of the frustration, I’m tired of not being able to protect my team, I’m tired of the politics that come with the job, and I’m tired of not telling you that I . . . .” He stopped himself before he revealed too much. DiNozzo watched him during his rant and felt sympathy for him knowing that Gibbs disliked not being in control.

“Tell me what?”

“Nothing.” Gibbs said as he flipped the switch to start the elevator.

DiNozzo left it as is and not another word was said. They exited the elevator, walked to their cars and went to their own places for the night. They both needed some time to cool off and collect their thoughts before having a real heart to heart conversation. The feelings were there between them but they were both struggling on how to proceed with informing each other. DiNozzo would stop by in the morning after Gibbs left for work to collect his things with the key Gibbs made for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew a little bit of inspiration to write the bathroom scene between Gibbs and DiNozzo from a scene in the Vampire Diaries show season 5x17. I didn't want to convey sexual tension between the characters yet because they have yet to divulge their feelings to one another. So instead I went with desire.


	5. A little bit of everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much happens in just a few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show. 
> 
> I apologize for the delay in updates. Enjoy this chapter and know that a lot of greatness is soon to happen.
> 
> I am currently having a slight writer's block so it might be a while before I upload again.

**Monday, September 3**

Gibbs entered the squad room that morning to find Fornell and Agent Thomas Wilson. He walked over to his desk as he lifted his left brow in curiosity, “Fornell.”

Fornell replied, “Gibbs.”

Gibbs placed his coffee on his desk as he sat in his chair. He looked from Agent Wilson to Fornell then laced his hands together, “What can I do for you?”

Fornell smirked at Gibbs’ casual attitude. He glanced back at his agent before answering Gibbs’ question., “Agent Wilson has healed from his unfortunate ordeal and would like to be of assistances to the case. I advised him to wait but he insisted.”

Gibbs nodded in agreement. He escorted them both to the conference room. Agent Wilson entered the conference room and Gibbs quickly closed it behind him for some privacy with Fornell. He turned to face Fornell, “You were supposed to call me if anything new arose.”

Fornell responded before opening the door, “And you were supposed to come back to the hospital to question him. Guess we both failed on that account.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the back of Fornell’s head as they entered the room. Fornell sat next to his agent as Gibbs sat across from them, “You stated, Agent Wilson, in the ambulance that you didn’t remember much. What’s changed?” asked Gibbs.

“A few things are becoming clearer to me but I am not sure if my information will be helpful. I need to provide anything to help stop another abduction, Agent Gibbs.”

Gibbs pulled out his notebook, “I’m listening.”

As Agent Wilson opened his mouth to talk, the conference room door swung open with great force. Gibbs turned around to see one of his agents standing there, “DiNozzo, what the hell are you doing?”

“I need to speak with you.” Gibbs stood up and escorted DiNozzo into the hallway.

Gibbs closed the door behind them, “Talk.”

“I know you don’t like to be interrupted, boss. But when I asked where you were someone told me you were in the conference room with Fornell.”

Gibbs stood there still waiting for DiNozzo to explain himself.

DiNozzo took a breath and continued, “I can’t allow you to conduct an interview until I speak with Agent Wilson first.”

Gibbs cocked an eyebrow at his senior field agent then squinted his eyes in suspicion, “Why?”

DiNozzo throat went dry and he panicked with an answer but all that came out was, “Can’t tell you why. You’re just gonna have to trust me.”

Gibbs contemplated it and he felt at a crossroad. Part of him would have loved to step aside and allow his senior field agent the interview. But at the same time, he was tired of DiNozzo’s constant secrecy as of late.

“I will get the answers you need. Think about who better for Wilson to talk to then someone who has been through the same ordeal.”

They stood there for a few seconds staring at each other before Gibbs finally agreed with a nod, “if you ever barge in like that again, I will smack you.” 

DiNozzo exhaled at his boss's answer, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

DiNozzo smiled at Gibbs as he turned around to open the door. Gibbs made eye contact with Fornell and motioned with his head to join him in the hallway, “DiNozzo’s taking over.”

Fornell stared at Gibbs curiously and followed the hint. Gibbs closed the door behind them leaving, DiNozzo and Wilson to the interview.

DiNozzo reached his hand towards Wilson as he sat down in the chair across from him, “Hi, I’m Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.”

“Agent Thomas Wilson.” He grasped DiNozzo’s hand to shake it.

“I want to let you know Thomas that anything we discuss here will be kept between you and me unless it helps with the case.”

Agent Wilson nodded in agreement. “In all honesty, DiNozzo, it took everything I had to come here and discuss my abduction.”

“It’s Tony and I understand. I’m still recovering from my abduction.”

Now understanding the reason behind DiNozzo taking over the interview, Wilson relaxed knowing that he could confide in him about the abduction without judgement. Wilson started talking “So you understanding my hesitation?"

DiNozzo smirked, "More than you know."

Wilson nodded and cleared his throat, "I don't remember much, just bits and pieces.”

“That's okay. I don't remember anything. I dream about surgeons and being operated on, I think that is my mind trying to cope with what happened to me. I am sure any thing you provide could be helpful." He flashed a smile at Wilson, "How about we start from the beginning?”

“I remember the FBI received a call that some kind of activity was going on in the warehouse district. I arrived on site and started walking around. As I was heading back to my vehicle, I felt a blow to the back of my head. When I came to I found myself in a dark room lit only by a singular bright light above me. I struggled to get free from a gurney but my hands and feet were strapped down. In the far off distances, I heard two men engaged in a muffled conversation.” He took a breath as he reached for the water DiNozzo was pouring for him. After a couple of sips he continued, “I remember having a mask placed over my face like they were prepping me for a procedure. But they stopped the flow of gas when one of the men said my body was not a suitable environment to carry and I was no longer useful to them. The next thing I remember was waking up in the FBI parking lot.”

DiNozzo stared at Wilson with empathy on his face. He wondered if maybe they were planning to perform the same procedure on Wilson that they had on him, “Why do you think they said that?”

“I'm guessing they could've been referring to my iron deficiency. But it still doesn't make sense, why did they need my body to be a suitable environment? Do you have any idea what they meant by that?"

"Thomas, I am going to share a few things with you about the case. Keep in mind that we don't have a lot of answers right now. Aside from myself and you, we've recovered two other bodies they were military men. It seems our abductors are targeting government and military men ages 35 and under."

Wilson looked at DiNozzo puzzled, "You said bodies."

"Yes, the two young military men were found dead due to internal bleeding."

"Oh."

DiNozzo was not expecting the reaction he received from Wilson but he figured that maybe Wilson was just trying to process everything. DiNozzo unsure how much more he should divulge to him. He was brought from his thoughts when Wilson started talking.

"Tony, if my body was a suitable environment, do you know what sort of procedure they would have performed? Was the procedure performed on you or did you escape before anything could happen?"

DiNozzo felt his stomach drop at Wilson's questions. They were fair questions and he had the right to ask them but again he was unsure if he wanted to share that information just yet. He remember that earlier he made Wilson promised to keep everything they discussed a secret. DiNozzo figured he could start out slow and see where Wilson's line of questioning would go.

DiNozzo leaned towards Wilson from a seated position and laced his hands together, "I believe the procedures are some sort of experimentation. It was performed on me and as far as I know, I am the only person who has survived the procedure. I believe if your body was suitable they would have performed the same procedure on you that they did on me."

He received no response from Wilson. DiNozzo took a breath before continuing, "I must again tell you that what I reveal next is to not leave this room. The procedure involves impregnating males but placing a uterus and fertilized egg into a healthy male."

That last sentence brought Wilson out of his thoughts, "Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that someone out there is trying to create male bodies hospitable to carry children?"

DiNozzo was unsure how to proceed with his response but he knew he needed to give one, "Possibly and no, I don't know why they are doing it."

Wilson sat there once again trying to take in all of this information, "Tony, are you pregnant?"

The question he was dreading had been asked, "yes."

Wilson could sense DiNozzo was uncomfortable and he quickly changed the subject, "Is there any other information about the case?”

DiNozzo took a minute to thing a few things over and realized that he should not share his news with Wilson so he informed him of the suspect instead, “We recently caught a suspect but we are still interrogating him.”

“Maybe I can help identify the voice?”

“Not a bad idea.”

They both walked back down to the squad room.

As they approached Gibbs and Fornell, Gibbs inquired, “anything?”

Wilson and DiNozzo exchanged looks while Gibbs watched them with suspicion.

“Sorry, Agent Gibbs. It seems I have just as much information as DiNozzo about the abduction.”

Everyone reacted in defeat, Ziva sat further back in her chair while McGee went back to the live surveillance footage.

DiNozzo looked around the room at his team mates before returning his gaze back to Gibbs, “Not all is lost though, boss. I told Agent Wilson about our possible suspect and he wants to talk to him.”

“Ziva, take Fornell and Wilson down to the holding cell to talk to Mathers.”

She stood up, “Agent Fornell, Wilson, follow me please.”

Gibbs and DiNozzo stood there never breaking eye contact. DiNozzo could clearly see that Gibbs was pissed about earlier but it was something he had to do for his own secrecy. DiNozzo went to head back to his desk but Gibbs blocked his way, “Why do I feel like you are purposely keeping something from me?”

“I told you, boss. You’re just going to have to trust me.” DiNozzo knew that Gibbs would never let this go. Gibbs’s cell rang breaking the tension. “Yeah. Gibbs.” DiNozzo could hear Ziva’s voice on the other end. “I’ll be right down.” He closed his cell, “Looks like Agent Wilson recognized Mathers voice as being in the warehouse with him.”

Gibbs left to meet up with Ziva, Fornell, and Wilson. DiNozzo was working on some paperwork as MCGee watched the plasma. McGee glanced over at DiNozzo looking him up and down wishing his friend would confide in him. He decided to reach out to him instead.

“Tony?”

DiNozzo was making notes on a case file, “Yeah, McGee.”

“Is everything okay?”

DiNozzo sighed, “I am really tired of everyone asking me that.”

“It’s just you have been absent a lot and you've been acting more abnormal than your normal self. A lot of things seem to upset you when you're at work. Not to mention the tension between you and Gibbs.” McGee stood up and walked over to DiNozzo’s desk and leaned up against it.

DiNozzo stopped what he was doing but refused to meet McGee’s eyes. “Nothing is going on. Gibbs just thinks I need some time to rest from my abduction.”

“But think of all the times this has happened before. Sometimes he's not as sympathetic, why is this time different?”

DiNozzo looked at McGee, “I don’t know, McSnoop.”

“Tony, I am not snooping. I am your friend and I care about you. I am here if you need to talk.” With that he walked back over to his desk to continue watching the plasma screen. DiNozzo watched him walk back to his desk.

Ziva and Gibbs walked back into the squad room, they sat down at their desks and the day continued as normal. No more was discussed about Mathers or Agent Wilson.

**Tuesday, September 4**

Now knowing that Mathers was involved in at least one of the abductions, Gibbs wanted to look deeper into Mathers' past. See if he had an cohorts that may have helped him with the abductions. He felt like the only way he would get his answer would be to have DiNozzo do the interrogation since the suspect favored him.

After a very long and heated discussion, DiNozzo agreed that he would do this under a few conditions. His conditions were nobody was allowed to watch the interrogation and video recording was fine but no sound was allowed. He would only agree if Gibbs agreed to those conditions. He waited for Gibbs to reject his request but was surprised when they were accepted. Didn't mean that Gibbs' suspicion regarding DiNozzo weren't there. He wasn't sure how much longer he could let DiNozzo's secrecy continue before he lost his cool and demanded answers.

As DiNozzo walked down to interrogation by himself, he cycled through so many thoughts. He stood in front of the door with his hand on the doorknob. He took a deep breathe, squared his shoulders, and entered the room wafting with confidence. He sat across from Mathers. 

“So Mathers, how do you like your new digs? Are you comfy down there in the holding cell?”

DiNozzo sat there waiting for a response.

“I remember you. I broke into your apartment. You’re Anthony DiNozzo.”

“I am.” With a curious look on his face.

I’ve been waiting to see you again.” Mathers said with a very psychopathic smile.

DiNozzo swallowed down his nervous, “May I ask why such an interest in me?”

“You know the answer to that if everything went according to plan. So, how are you feeling?”

DiNozzo moved his hand half way to his abdomen as in to protect his unborn child when he remembered the video cameras were recording. “I do not know what you're talking about.”

Mathers leaned back in his chair, “It's a miraculous thing, don’t you think?”

To get the pressure off of him, DiNozzo started a new line of questioning, “Who are you working for?”

But Mathers wasn't taking the bait, “Have you had any symptoms?”

“How many of you are out there abducting people?”

“Did you get the package we sent you?”

DiNozzo's face went blank and his eye's went wide at Mather's question but he stayed on task, “Why are you abducting military men and government agents?”

“I refuse to answer your questions until you answer mine.”

DiNozzo frustration level was through the roof and he knew he was getting anywhere He decided to know longer waste his time. He stood up from the table, “Then I guess I am done interrogating you.”

He was almost to the door before Mathers said one last things “You better take care of it. It’s success could open new scientific doors.” DiNozzo stopped dead in his tracks. As he headed out of the room he told the agent outside of interrogation to return Mathers to his holding cell.

DiNozzo returned to the squad room, he announced no progress was made and everybody went on about there day. nobody said a word. Around 1815 everyone went home for the day. . . .

Except Gibbs he went down to interrogation and took the tape from DiNozzo’s session. Took it down to Abby’s lab. “Hey Gibbs.”

“Abs, I need you to do something for me.” He walked over to her desk.

She glanced down at the item in his hand, “Anything. What’s up?”

Gibbs handed her the tape, “I need you to watch this tape, its about the case."

“Okay, why not just watch it upstairs?”

“DiNozzo had the sound turned off in the interrogation.”

“And you want me to read lips. I don’t know Gibbs, I feel like I am invading Tony’s privacy.” She wanted to help but was hesitant.

“Damn, his privacy he is hiding something and I want to know what. I am done playing games.” He walked out of the lab before Abby could rebuttle but she did as he asked. She watched the video and took notes. She found herself quite confused towards the end, not sure what “it” was. She finished transcribing and waited for tomorrow to deliver it. Her only problem now was who to talk to first Gibbs or DiNozzo.

**Wednesday September 5**

Everyone arrived the next morning to find Abby standing in the squad room.

DiNozzo put his things by his desk, “Hey Abs.”

She gave him a little wave but no verbal response. In fact, she didn’t even really look at him. She responded to everyone else’s good mornings. She waited for Gibbs to sit down at his desk before she asked to speak with him.

“I have something for you.” She handed him a piece of paper.

DiNozzo, McGee, and Ziva all stood up to come over to look at what Abby had handed Gibbs. “Sit.” He stated.

They all sat back down in their chairs. Ziva and McGee decided to watch the recording of the surveillance from last night while DiNozzo tentatively watched Gibbs and Abby. He watched Gibbs’ expressions then watched him look up at Abby then down at the paper then back up at Abby. Gibbs got up from behind his desk kissed her cheek as a thank you before she went down to her lab. At this point, Ziva and McGee were now interested. Gibbs stood there leaning against his desk trying to figure out his next move. He grabbed the paper off his desk, “DiNozzo, my office now.” He quickly followed Gibbs into the elevator unsure as to the reason behind the meeting. As he entered, the doors closed and Gibbs flip the button to stop it. 

Gibbs looked at the paper in his hands and barely above a whisper he inquired, “What aren’t you telling me?” 

DiNozzo was taken aback by his boss's questioning and he nervously chuckled, “I am not sure what you mean, boss?”

Gibbs shook and a little more sternly this time he said, “Nope. Not a good enough answer. I’m done with your game." Gibbs walked towards him closing the gap between them and forcing him back against the wall of the elevator, "I want the truth. Now!” Gibbs yelled sternly.

He stared wide eyed to his boss's strange behavior, “I told you. You’re just going to have to trust me.” DiNozzo matched Gibbs sternness.

They both took a couple of deep breaths. Gibbs very softly said, “I want to know what the hell is going on.” DiNozzo could hear the sadness in Gibbs’ voice and it killed him. He started tearing up when he responded with “In time. But remember that when I do tell you. You asked for the truth.” 

The rage came back and Gibbs stepped away from DiNozzo to walk towards the other side of the elevator, “Damnit DiNozzo, if you're in trouble then tell me so I can help.”

“I'm not sure what you think I've done but I assure you that I am fine.”

“Really? Then explain this to me.” Gibbs showed the paper to him. DiNozzo reached out, took it and proceeded to read it. His eyes went wide while reading ,it was a transcript from his interrogation yesterday. The hurt now coming from DiNozzo anger and sadness filled his voice, “You had no right to spy on me!” 

"I feel like you've given me no choice.”

“I have been nothing but honest with you up until recently about the case! I asked you to trust me!”

“I did until I read this,” he said taking the paper back “now I am not so sure. What even provoke this line of questioning from Mathers?”

It was DiNozzo's turn to close the gap between them and through gritted teeth said, “I’m done discussing this.” A tear fell down his cheek due to the betrayal from his boss.

DiNozzo flipped the switch, the doors opened and he exited with Gibbs following him. Ziva and McGee watched in awe as DiNozzo walked to his desk, grab his things and return to the elevator. Gibbs stood by the elevator watching all this happen. He faced the elevator as DiNozzo got back inside and right before the doors closed DiNozzo stated, “I’m taking a personal day.” Gibbs was beyond pissed now, both about the situation and himself for losing his cool. He felt a need to chase after DiNozzo and apologize but he was just so angry with him for keeping secrets. Instead he returned to his desk, took a very deep breath and calmly asked, “McGee, did we get anything on surveillance from last night?” as if nothing happened.

McGee was so flabbergasted he stumbled over his words and was utterly afraid to tell Gibbs that they captured nothing last night. So Ziva stepped in, “There was nothing, Gibbs.”

He looked at Ziva, gave her a weary smile and nodded. “How long have we had the cameras up?” 

McGee glanced a Ziva trying to figure out the reasoning behind his boss's inquire, “About ten days, boss.”

Gibbs looked at the both of them, “Ziva. McGee. Go down to the warehouse and dismantle the mics and cameras.”

Ziva inquired in surprise, “Are you sure Gibbs?”

“Yes.”

After McGee and Ziva left, Gibbs sat behind his desk trying to find a way to make it up to DiNozzo for what transpired between them. He figured the best solution was for both of them to calm down a little bit.

**Thursday, September 6**

It took forever but the day was finally here; his appointment with Dr. Lee. He was going into work later in the day. Gibbs knew that he had a follow-up appointment since he was released about three weeks ago. DiNozzo had been looking up information about pregnancies to better familiarize himself with procedural things. He wondered how much him being a man would apply to him. He also wondered if he would start showing earlier than women or if the baby could been seen sooner on the sonogram. He knew the majority of his questions were a wait and see scenario but maybe just talking to Dr. Lee about his thoughts some could be be answered. As he entered Bethsda, a thought occurred to him. Dr. Lee wasn't an OB/GYN so he wondered if he would be transferred to another doctor. He hoped Dr. Lee would stay on with him anyway.

DiNozzo was instructed to go to the fourth floor and wait for Dr. Lee in the OB/GYN office for his appointment around 0915. As he walked down the hall, he passed the nursery. He took a few steps back to look in through the window. He gazed in at all the tiny infants his hand found its way to his lower abdomen and he could not help but think what his baby would look like. He was in such awe that he was unaware to Dr. Lee standing next to him, “Cute, aren’t they?”

DiNozzo jumped to the voice, with an anxious laugh he stated “A little more warning next time, Doc.”

“Sorry, Tony. Shall we?” They both headed down the hallway to a door with a name on it. Dr. Lee knocked three times, the door was opened by a beautiful brunette women. She waved them inside, as she closed the door, Dr. Lee made introductions, “Dr. Lillian Stone, this is NCIS Agent Anthony DiNozzo. He is the patient I was telling you about that has a special classified case.”

She reached her hand out for DiNozzo to take with his own as a greeting. “Hello. Anthony. It is nice to meet you and I want to let you know that I will take the best care of you.”

“Call me Tony.”

Dr. Stone sat down at her desk while DiNozzo and Dr. Lee took seats opposite her, “Tony, I've told Dr. Stone about your condition because I trust her to make the right decisions and to keep this under discretion.”

“No offense, Dr. Stone but what do you know about male pregnancies?”

“Seeing as how you are the first known case nothing but I do know pregnancies. From what Dr. Lee told me your symptoms seem to be quite normal to a regular pregnancy.”

Dr. Lee was being paged, “Excuse me, I will be back as soon as I can.”

DiNozzo was a little nervous to not have Dr. Lee there but he was willing to get a better feel for his OB/GYN.

Dr. Stone stood up and escorted DiNozzo out of her office and over to an exam room. She closed the door behind them for privacy.

“Since you'll be in my hands for your pregnancy, I am going to start a chart for you. Although Dr. Lee already informed me of your case, I still would like to hear everything from you first hand. From there, if you have any questions I will hopefully do my best to answer them.” She presented him with a smile to calm his nerves.

DiNozzo started from the beginning about his abduction then showed her the scars on his abdomen from the surgery that was performed on him. He told her about how a couple of days after his abduction he was vomiting but figured it was due to shock. Then he slowly got new symptoms like nausea, cramps, fatigue, and headaches. He continued by telling her about the day Dr. Lee told him he was pregnant. He almost told her about the vial of DNA but decided to wait until Dr. Lee came back for that.

DiNozzo watched as she quickly jotted all these notes down in his chart. When he completed telling her everything, she looked up at him, “Fascinating. It sounds to me that whoever abducted you was a very skilled surgeon. They managed to put a uterus inside without opening you up. Waited to see if your body rejected it before they planted a fertilized egg in there. Cramping can sometimes happen when an egg plants itself to a uterus which usually happens after an egg is fertilized by sperm. It takes a week for the fertilized egg to travel to the uterine wall which fits your timeline.”

“All this is still so unreal to me. It's weird, you know. I hear what you are saying and at the same time the words are both foreign but familiar. I have so many questions like whose eggs are in me? Cause we know they aren't mine.”

“Since we have no way of knowing that just yet, we’ll have to play this by ear. Dr. Lee did mention that when he saw you last he was able to look at something on the ultrasound machine. A baby can’t be seen until eight weeks so we will wait until then to do a sonogram. By then we should have a fairly good idea as to how you may progress.”

“So today was more of a meet and greet with you than an exam. Dr. Lee told me that when I came in, he and I would talk about what happened and decide if I want to go through with the pregnancy.”

“And?”

“And I have decided to continue for as long as my body allows. If my body rejects the more I progress then I will deal with it then.”

“Sounds like a plan. Do you have any more questions for me or things you want to discuss?”

But before DiNozzo could say anything. Dr. Lee rejoined them, “How is everything?”

“Just Fine, Dr. Lee. I was just asking Tony if he needed anything else before I provided him with my information, in case he needs anything and to schedule future appointments.”

“I was wondering, how soon a DNA paternity test can be done?”

“In women, we can do it as early as 11-12 weeks. Let’s see how you progress at your eight week mark and if you are progressing faster then a normal pregnancy we will do it then.”

Upon hearing this news, he decided to wait until then to talk about the vial that arrived at Gibbs' house. Without anymore questions, goodbyes were exchange and DiNozzo headed into work. Although he was unsure if he could concentrate on anything not to mention having to deal with Gibbs after what happened the day before. He was in for a long and stressful day.

**Friday, September 7**

DiNozzo woke up this morning dreading going into work. The last two days had been interesting to say the least and were on a constant loop playing in his head. He really disliked lying to Gibbs but he knew for now that he had to keep it under wraps. He was starting to wonder if something else was at play; a deeper meaning to Gibbs' anger from the other day. As much as he did not want to deal with him today and his constant staring from across the room like he himself was a complex case Gibbs was trying to solve; he needed a distraction today.

He entered the squad room to find Ziva and McGee just sitting there. He knew the case was slow but not that slow. He placed his things by his desk then sat down. Turned his computer on and started looking at the case from the beginning. So far they had one suspect in custody, Ethan Mathers. He started on reviewing old surveillance tapes when Gibbs walked in.

DiNozzo kept on with reviewing the case. He knew it was only a matter of time before Gibbs started to observe him from across the room. He didn’t even have to look up from his computer to know he was being watched. He started to feel more and more like a suspect in Gibbs’ eyes. It was at this moment a wave of nausea hit him hard, he let out a sickly moan unwillingly and now knew everyone was staring at him. He had to play it cool, “I just remembered I left my stove on.”

He picked up his desk phone and pretended to call his neighbor and asked them to turn his stove off. After he hung up, he returned to his computer all the while trying not to throw up. His nausea was constant for the rest of the day but it never got better it. It went from a mild to unbearable nausea. It was finally time for lunch, he waited for everyone to leave before he headed down to autopsy. DiNozzo knew he should probably call Dr. Stone to get advice but Ducky was closer and had a medical background.

It took everything he had to walk into autopsy, the smell of chemicals was almost too much for him but he took deep breaths and walked in.

“Hey, Ducky.”

Ducky looked up from a file he was reviewing, “Anthony, what a surprise. What brings you down here?”

“I was hoping you could help me with something.”

He waved at DiNozzo to hither him closer, “Anything my boy. What seems to be the problem?”

As he walked closer to Ducky he grimaced as his stomach churned, “I’m having really bad nausea, it started about a couple of hours ago. Do you have anything that might help?”

“What have you tried before you came to see me?”

“I tried crackers which worked for a little bit, antacids which seem to make it worse, and from there I tried peppermint tea which did nothing. I’m at my wit’s end, Ducky.”

“Have you seen a Doctor?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

DiNozzo stiffened at the question and very quickly tried to think of how to answer Ducky’s question. Should he lie to him or tell him the truth, he thought. He knew due to Ducky’s medical background; he was sworn to confidentiality between doctor and patient which DiNozzo currently was for seeking medical advice. At this point he would do anything to stop the nausea. So he took a deep breath and while looking down to the floor very calmly stated, “Ok, I’ll tell you but it never leaves this room and only stays between you and me. But before I say anything you have to put autopsy under a discreet lock down and everything must be turned off.

Ducky looked at him quite perplexed and started to inquire the reason behind the secrecy, “Anthony, I. . . ”

“Ducky, please.” DiNozzo plead him with his eyes, “I do not feel well and would really like your help."

Seeing as to how bad DiNozzo was now looking. Ducky complied by walking over to his sliding doors and locked then he walked over to his computer to turn it off. He also turned off other devices he had as an extra precaution. He walked over to where DiNozzo was standing and helped him to sit on to an autopsy table because he looked as if he was ready to collapse. Once DiNozzo was situated Ducky brought his chair over and sat down. “What is going on, Anthony?”

DiNozzo swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths, “Remember when Gibbs brought me down here a couple of weeks ago because I fainted. Well it seems that there was a reason behind it and it was not due to stress. About a week ago, something happened that will change my life forever.” He laughed nervously before continuing. “The next words I am about to say must never be repeated, Do you understand Ducky? To no one.”

Ducky nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“I'm pregnant.” DiNozzo stated expressionless while staring down at the floor.

Deep in conversation, the two were unaware that Gibbs was standing outside autopsy watching them. He never went to lunch instead he followed DiNozzo. He was worried about him.

Ducky eyes drifted to DiNozzo's abdomen. He cleared his throat to regain Ducky’s attention. Ducky returned his gaze to DiNozzo. “So can you help me or not Duck?”

“You know there is no cure for morning sickness.”

“I know Ducky but I have tried all of my usual remedies and nothing is working. I need some relief, I begging you.”

“Have you tried ginger?”

“No.”

Ducky put his tea kettle on and he just so happened to have some ginger tea in his stash. Once the brew was ready, he provided DiNozzo with a cup and told him to sip it slowly. Gibbs still standing outside the doors had had enough and decided to knock. Ducky and DiNozzo’s attention was brought to the autopsy doors when they heard knocking. They found Gibbs standing there. DiNozzo nearly choked on his tea. Ducky returned his gaze to DiNozzo.

He was wiping the tea that dribbled down his chin, “Let him in.”

Ducky walked over to unlock the doors. They opened and Gibbs entered. “Hey Duck.” Stated Gibbs keeping his gazed fixed on DiNozzo.

DiNozzo never looked at him, he just sat there sipping the tea. “What can I do for you, Jethro?” inquired Ducky as he returned to his seat by DiNozzo.

“Something you want to tell me, DiNozzo?”

“No, boss.”

Ducky watched the two of them and could feel the heavy tension. It was very unusual for tension to be between the two and Ducky felt an urgency to intervene, “Anthony and I were just working on the case over a cup of tea.” Gibbs looked at him.

Gibbs stated in exasperation, “You got Ducky lying for you now.”

DiNozzo looked at Gibbs with the upmost dislike. Gibbs was treating him like a child that need parental supervision. “You’re the one spying on me.” He returned his gaze back to his cup as Gibbs lashed out at him.

“I have my reasons!” Gibbs yelled as he walked towards DiNozzo who was still on the autopsy table, “What do you expect me to do DiNozzo? Huh? You wont tell me anything.”

Feeling really hurt now, it took everything DiNozzo had to not start crying; damn these hormones he thought to himself. They just stared at each other. The silence was almost deafening after all the yelling. Ducky wanted so badly to say something but he wasn't sure what to say in this situation. DiNozzo put his cup down on the table feeling much better, he got off the autopsy table all while keeping eye contact with Gibbs.

DiNozzo stood in front of him never breaking eye contact until he walked past him to leave. As he did, DiNozzo called over his shoulder, “We’ll talk later, Ducky.” With that he exited autopsy and got in the elevator.

Gibbs turned to Ducky, “What did he tell you?”

“Jethro, your team keeps things from you for a reason. Not to hurt you but to protect you because they admire you so much that they do not want to disappoint you. You have to trust that when Anthony is ready, he will tell you.” Ducky stated while looking at Gibbs. He left Gibbs standing there while he cleaned up the tea cups and returned his chair to his desk.

Gibbs was livid that DiNozzo now had Ducky involved with his lie and as he left, he overturned a medical cart causing medical instruments to fly across the room. “Feel better?” Ducky yelled after him.

“Much.” Replied Gibbs.

Gibbs returned to the squad room to find Ziva and McGee at DiNozzo’s desk. He was sharing some information he had found with them. He wanted their opinions on whether or not they thought it was worth looking into. DiNozzo was still anger which Gibbs could tell by the tone of voice as he was revealing the newly found information. Gibbs left to get coffee and clear his head.

DiNozzo decided to look further into Mathers’s past and discovered that while he was in prison, Mathers was a member of a prison club that taught trade skills to people who did not have jobs prior to getting arrested. DiNozzo noticed that 5 out of 8 of the club members were released from prison the same time as Mathers. DiNozzo suggested that it might be a good idea to put them under surveillance.

“So what do you guys think?”

Ziva tapped a pencil to her lips while she contemplated before she responded, “I think it is worth investigating. At this point, I would do anything to get out in the field again.” stated Ziva

“Okay. Let’s split up the list, do some more research and go from there.” DiNozzo divvied up the list.

After extensive searching and digging around they were able to find three of the five men released from prison had not so very pleasant pasts. The other two of the five were dead. The three men names were Greg Pearson, John Ives, and David Wilson. They were trying to figure out what to do next when Gibbs entered the squad room from a very long break.

“Boss, we discovered something that may help move the case forward.” Stated DiNozzo as he followed Gibbs to his desk. He motioned to McGee to bring up the information on the plasma. He told Gibbs everything they had done up until he walked in. DiNozzo talked about Greg Pearson’s background, Ziva told Gibbs what she found on John Ives, and McGee told David Wilson’s background.

Gibbs was letting everything sink in while he listened to each of his agents. DiNozzo looked at Gibbs once McGee was done talking, “So what is our next move, boss?”

“Call Fornell. Let him know what we found.”

DiNozzo returned to his desk to call Fornell, “On it, boss”

"Ziva. McGee. I want you to go stake out David Wilson. Now. Go.”

As they went to grab their things, DiNozzo had to admit that made him a little nervous considering the way Gibbs had been acting towards him. He hung up with Fornell just as they were leaving.

“What do you want me to do, boss?”

“Keep tabs on the other two.”

“Ok. I'll call Fornell and have him send out some of his agents.”

“No.”

“No? Then how?” questioned DiNozzo with a confused smile and the phone half way to his ear.

“Follow them through their electronic trails.”

“Will do, boss.” He started watching their bank statements and credit card charges until it was time to leave for the day.


	6. September Eighth through September Sixteenth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stake outs ensue after some information was discovered regarding Ethan Mathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show. 
> 
> Enjoy this very short and quick chapter. There is no signifcance to the bold words, it was to help with keeping track of the days and stake outs.

**Saturday, September 8-16**

With new information about the case coming to light, the next couple of days consisted of stake outs and some research. Tension is still present between Gibbs and DizNozzo but not as bad as it was. They are professionals so they tried to put the majority of their anger aside and focus on the case. The stake outs are a preliminary measure to see who they needed to focus on more to be able to call them a suspect.

They started off their stake outs with David Wilson. **Saturday** morning, Gibbs and DiNozzo watched David. Ziva and McGee took over the late afternoon and night shift. 

**Sunday** Morning, they switched again, Gibbs and DiNozzo in the morning. Ziva and McGee returned for the night shift. **Monday** morning came, Gibbs called Ziva and McGee to informing them to no longer watch David Wilson.

Ziva and McGee headed to NCIS to help out with research on John Ives before starting the stake out on him. Later **Monday** night, Gibbs and Ziva parked out front of Ives' house. **Tuesday** morning, DiNozzo and McGee took over the stake out on Ives. Afternoon and night, Ziva and Gibbs took over again.

**Wednesday** morning, Gibbs stayed while McGee traded with Ziva. Afternoon and night shift was taken over by Ziva and DiNozzo.

**Thursday** morning, they all met back at NCIS to dive a little bit into Greg Pearson's past before they moved on to that stake out. **Friday** morning, Gibbs and McGee started the stake out on Greg Pearson. **Friday** evening, they switched again. **Saturday** was the same with various switch offs. The stake out continued until Sunday night with various switch up of partners.

After a week of stake outs, it was decided that they would focus their sights on John Ives and Greg Pearson. They took all the information they had gathered to see if their were any connections to Ethan Mathers. Sure enough there was a pattern and come **Monday** morning, they would share this information with Fornell.


	7. New abduction and Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many things transpire in this chapter especially a heartfelt conversation between Gibbs and Ducky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or its characters.

**Monday September 17**

They all arrived bright and early Monday morning, Fornell showed up as they were getting settled behind their desks. He exchanged pleasantries with DiNozzo, McGee, and Ziva on his way over to Gibbs. “You said you have new information.”

Gibbs came around his desk as he asked his agent to display the information, “McGee. Plasma.”

McGee brought up an image of Ethan Mathers along with images of John Ives, Greg Pearson, and David Wilson.

Gibbs informed Fornell that they had reason to believe these three people are connected to Mathers. To prove a connection, they observed each person individually. McGee, Ziva, and DiNozzo took turns explaining each possible suspect to Fornell and everything they had dug up.

McGee hit the clicker, as the picture of David Wilson filled the tv screen, he spoke, “We started with David Wilson. After watching him for a few days, we realized that he didn’t fit the MO of what we were looking for. Our abductor’s moves are methodical. Wilson’s unorganized and sloppy. Therefore, we could no longer consider him a suspect.” As McGee was finishing his sentence, Ziva jumped in, “Plus, he had an alibi for the past three months. He was away on a business trip and about fifty people can account for him.”

McGee continued as he clicked the button and John Ives’ picture popped up next, “From there, we decided to look into John Ives. But unlike Wilson, Ives is very particular about how he does things.”

DiNozzo sarcastically interjected, “The man is like a machine.” He received looks from everyone.

Ziva rolled her eyes at DiNozzo’s commentary before she adds more detail, “Ives goes to the same coffee shop every morning at the same time then proceeds to the newspaper stand before going to work. For lunch, he goes to the same restaurant leaves work right at 5 pm to proceed home.”

After Ziva finished, McGee clicked the remote again and a picture of Greg Pearson popped up, “Greg Pearson also very methodical when it came to his day but not as much as Ives. Due to their methodical schedules, we kept our eyes on them and it was a good thing we did. While we were watching Pearson Saturday night. . .”

DiNozzo once again sarcastically interjected with a statement, “Spoiler alert, they had dinner together.”

DiNozzo received a look from Fornell and Gibbs this time. McGee continued, “It gets better we called their work to get background information and it turns out they both called in sick right before Tony’s abduction.”

Gibbs looked at Fornell when McGee was done, “Looks like we have a reason to obtain warrants.”

A new voice joined the group, “I’m impressed.” 

Everyone turned to see Director Vance standing by DiNozzo’s desk.

Fornell walked towards the him, “Director, Gibbs and his team were just filling me in on some new intel.”

Director Vance looked from Fornell than to Gibbs than back to Fornell, “I’m glad one of us is being brought up to speed on the case.”

Gibbs walked towards Fornell and the Director, “You never asked, Leon.”

“I am the Director. I shouldn’t have to ask to be filled in on a case.”

Gibbs and Director Vance stood there staring at each other. “McGee fill in Director Vance while Fornell and I get a warrant for Ives and Pearson.”

There was silence as Gibbs walked to his desk to grab his credentials. Fornell and him proceeded to the elevators but as they walked passed the Director, he stopped them. He turned to face, “On what grounds? From where I'm standing, you don’t have enough proof to arrest them other then they went to the same prison and had dinner together.”

Gibbs stepped closer to Director Vance, “I thought you didn’t know anything about the case, Director?” He sounded hostile.

Vance stood there in silence chewing on his toothpick while having a staring contest with Gibbs. The tension was high in the bullpen and everyone was feeling it.

He narrowed his eyes at Vance, “Are you spying on me?”

“Only doing my job, Agent Gibbs.” Director Vance headed back up to his office. Everyone watched as he climbed the staircase once he got to the first landing he leaned over and said, “Agent Fornell, will take over surveillance to gather enough information to get a warrant.” DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee looked back and forth from Gibbs to Vance. He finished climbing the rest of the stairs.

Gibbs turned to Fornell to discuss surveillance for Ives, Pearson, and Wilson. Fornell left to round up some agents, Gibbs and his team dug into more research on the three suspects to see if they could any other connections they missed.

After about two hours of extensive research, they still had not found anything unusual. They looked at everything. But it seemed that other than being in prison together and knowing each other outside of prison there didn’t seem to be anything that brought them together or a way to tie them to the abductions.

DiNozzo was reclining in his desk chair with his feet propped up, rubbing his temples, “What are we missing?”

McGee was also reclined in his chair with his eyes closed, “Why do you have to keep asking that?” he grunted.

DiNozzo looked towards him, “Because we're missing something.”

“Fine, but you don’t have to keep saying it.”

Ziva with her head on her desk threatened the two of them, “If you two do not shut up, I will have another case to solve involving you two.”

Tony just made a face at her from across the room. 

“Why make more work for yourself, David?” questioned Gibbs sarcastically as he entered the squad room.

The three of them watched him curiously as he walked over to his desk and sat down. They were so deep into researching; they hadn’t noticed he left.

“Boss, we’ve looked at everything and into everything possible. There are no connections that we aren’t already aware of.” McGee said as he composed himself behind his desk.

Knowing that his team had been working very hard he gave them the afternoon off to recharge and come back tomorrow.

DiNozzo went back to his apartment for the night to rest. But rest he did not find, instead his gut and investigative skills were nagging him to look deeper at the evidence they had. DiNozzo wanted to put this case to rest so he could get on with his life and put this behind him. He sat on his couch contemplating everything when an idea struck him but he would wait until tomorrow to fill everyone in.

**Tuesday September 18**

DiNozzo was eager for work this morning so he could share his ideas with his co-workers. As he arrived in the squad room, he saw McGee and Ziva were already in.

He placed his bag by his desk and scanned the room, “Where’s Gibbs?”

McGee looked towards DiNozzo, “MTAC. Why?”

He walked over to McGee's desk, “I think I figured out why we aren’t finding anything.”

Ziva walked over to join them sounding surprised, “Really?”

But his attention was brought to the area where MTAC resided, “What’s Gibbs doing in MTAC?” His mind occupied with thoughts that he had not heard McGee trying to get his attention.

McGee snapped his fingers to bring him back to reality, “Are you going to clue us in on your epiphany?”

He refocused his attention to his teammates, “Huh? Oh, Yeah.” He went behind McGee’s desk and pushed him and his chair out of the way to gain access to his computer.

Ziva gestured with her hands for him to continue, “So. . . ?”

He brought some things up on the plasma screen as he pointed to it, “It’s what we haven’t been looking at.”

Ziva and McGee both scowled before McGee inquired, “What do you mean?”

“We’re treating this case like any other. We look at bank records, phone records, internet searches, and travel records.”

“Your point?” inquired McGee.

“With our usual research, we haven’t found anything out of the ordinary. No offshore bank accounts they shared, no calls to the same number, no common internet research, and they haven’t traveled anywhere out of the country at the same time.”

“Where do you suppose we look then, Tony?” inquired Ziva.

“We need to look further into their past. Friends, relationships, where they worked, where they lived, hobbies, people they stayed in contact with after they were released from prison. Lets start with why they were arrested in the first place.”

McGee started typing on his computer, “Okay, well we know Mathers was arrested for organ harvesting and selling on the black market.”

Ziva headed over to her computer as DiNozzo sat on the edge of McGee’s desk and crossed his arm, “What about John Ives and Greg Pearson?”

Ziva looked up from her computer as she responded, “John Ives was arrested for embezzlement while employed at a hospital.”

McGee typed something on his keyboard, “Greg Pearson was arrested for drug use violation. He was working at a hospital pharmacy.”

A light bulb went off in DiNozzo’s head, “Same hospital?”

“No.” responded Ziva and McGee at the same time.

“What about co-workers? Was there a common name that pops up between the three of them?” DiNozzo inquired.

They started digging, about ten minutes later at the same time they said “Dr. Ira Campbell.”

Gibbs entered the squad room from MTAC sensing something was up, “Talk to me.”

All three turned their attention to him before McGee started talking, “Boss, we may have found a connection that ties Mathers, Ives, and Pearson altogether.”

He looked over at McGee, “Let’s hear it, McGee.”

“Dr. Ira Campbell, worked as a doctor in both hospitals that Ives and Pearson worked at. He was also the doctor that stood witness on the stands against Mathers stating that he did not know he was selling black market organs.”

“Good work, DiNozzo.” Gibbs sat down behind his desk.

DiNozzo smiled to himself at the recognition before walking over to Gibbs' desk, “Thank you, Boss. What should we do now?”

“You had the idea. Take the lead on this." responded Gibbs smugly.

DiNozzo smirked at his co-workers before clearing his throat and putting his serious face on, "Ziva. McGee. Lets see if we can find anything in his past so we can bring him in for questioning.”

McGee typed away on his keyboard, “Uhhh. . .That’s going to be a hard he died about two years ago.” 

Ziva looked over at DiNozzo and Gibbs, “Now what do we do?”

Gibbs stood up from his desk, “DiNozzo. . . .”

“. . .contact Fornell. On it.”

Gibbs continued his train of thought, "See if he has any evidence to get a warrant to question Ives and Pearson." Gibbs headed out of the squad room.

“Where you going, boss?” inquired McGee.

“Autopsy!”

The three of them watched as he walked over to the elevators.

**AUTOPSY……….**

Ducky looked up as the doors to autopsy opened, “Ah, Jehtro what can I do for you?”

“Ducky, what probable cause do we need to exhume a body?”

“There are many. Why?”

“We may have a break in the case and I need to be sure that my suspect is cold and in the ground.”

“I see. What probable cause are you looking for?”

“I don't know but my gut's telling me we have something.”

“Well unfortunately, Jethro, that’s one probable cause not on the list.”

“May I ask who you want to exhume?”

“Dr. Ira Campbell.”

“I can use my connections to inquire about his death.”

“Thanks, Duck.” With that Gibbs headed back upstairs

Upon reentering the squad room DiNozzo stated, “Fornell says he can come in tomorrow.”

Gibbs nodded in acknowledgement. They spent a couple more hours working on the case before they all headed home.

**Wednesday September 19**

Fornell showed up at NCIS around 1300 hours. He shared all the new information he uncovered; it still wasn’t enough to get a search warrant. Ives and Pearson have pretty average lives since they got out of prison. Gibbs informed Fornell about Dr. Ira Campbell and how he may have had something to do with the plan but not sure how yet. They have been working on this case for about a month now and everyone was beyond frustrated not to mention exhausted. They had no leads, no probable cause, and a whole bunch of unanswered questions. Ethan Mathers was no help plus he would only talk to DiNozzo and he was less than willing to talk to Mathers. Mainly because every time DiNozzo tried to get him to talk it was in regards to his secret; which in return caused more friction between him and Gibbs for various reasons.

It was around 1545, when Gibbs' cell phone rang, “Yeah.Gibbs.”

Ducky was on the other end, “Jethro, you’re going to want to come down to Autopsy.”

“On my way.” 

**Autopsy………………**

“What do you have, Duck?” Gibbs inquired as he entered Autopsy.

Ducky was sitting at his desk and swiveled his chair in the direction of Gibbs, “I may have found a reason to exhume your body. I called around and found the M.E. who oversaw Dr. Ira Campbell’s body. Turns out an autopsy was not performed because his death was declared of natural cause.”

“How is that probable cause?”

“Well something didn’t feel right so I looked over his medical records. He was a very healthy Fifty-six-year-old man. He has very good genes, all his family members lived well into their 80s. It is not possible that he died of natural cause.”

“Good work, Duck. I’ll get an exhumation form.” Gibbs left to go to the legal department to pitch his probable cause.

He returned to the squad room with news that documentation went through to exhume the body of Dr. Ira Campbell and would be delivered soon for Ducky to examine.

It was 1730 when the Dr. Ira Campbell’s body arrived down in autopsy. Since DNA was going to take a while to confirm if it was Dr. Campbell, Gibbs sent his team home. Fornell stayed with him to wait for results. While they discussed the case, Fornell’s cell rang. He answered it and while he was listening to his agent on the other side of the call, Gibbs watched as his face went blank. As Fornell hung up the phone he said, “Ives’s car was found at the warehouses with him inside shot.”

Upon hearing that Ives was shot, Fornell headed over to the crime scene. On his way out, he yelled to Gibbs from the elevator, “I would say we have probable cause for a search warrant now.” Gibbs called down to legal to get a search warrant to search Ives’s property.

Gibbs hung up with legal when he received a call from Ducky stating that Campbell's casket had arrived in Autopsy. He was going to send DNA to Abby after he unsealed the casket. Gibbs thanked Ducky then informed him about a new crime scene and details would follow soon. While walking out to the NCIS car lot he started to call DiNozzo to tell him to call Ziva and McGee to meet him at the crime scene when he felt a blow to the back of his head.

He woke to strange surroundings and a throbbing in the back of his head. He could sense someone was in the room with him.

“Show yourself.” He said into to the dark.

He heard rustling coming from a corner of the room he was in.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you Agent Gibbs?” said the unrecognizable disembodied voice.

“I at least deserve to see my killer before they kill me.”

“What makes you think I want to kill you?”

“Isn’t that usually your intention when you abduct your victims?”

“Only the experiments that are unsuccessful. Fortunately for DiNozzo, you found him before we had a chance to see how the experiment was progressing. But no matter I have people following him now.”

“We? How many are involved?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“What experiment have you performed on DiNozzo?”

“You should ask him that question. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“What is?

“How you ask about the case first and DiNozzo second. Are you sure you love him the way you think you do?”

Gibbs was silently.

“Ooh hit a nerve, did I? I have tabs on everyone DiNozzo has connections with and I have been very fascinated with you. Don’t worry though your secret is safe with me.”

“So are you going to tell me why you abducted me if you do not intend to kill me?”

“You deflect a lot when it comes to your personal life, don’t you?” The strange voice took a breath before continuing, “I want you to take this abduction as a warning. You are getting too close to the answer and I can not let that happen until my experiments are over.”

Gibbs felt another blow to the back of his head. He found himself moments later waking up in a car back at NCIS to his cellphone ringing. “I'll call you back, Tobias.” He felt an urgency to try to figure out the man behind the voice he called his team back to NCIS. They returned to find Gibbs extremely fidgety. He was still coming down from his adrenaline high of his abduction.

“Everything ok, boss?” DiNozzo inquired as he approached his boss' desk.

“McGee, can you trace the GPS on my cell?” Gibbs tossed his cell to him.

McGee went to explain to Gibbs how things worked when it came to tracking GPS but Gibbs shut him up fast, “I don’t want an explanation McGee just do as I ask.” McGee looked over at DiNozzo and Ziva for a little help.

Ziva placed her backpack on her desk as she joined DiNozzo, “Has there been a break in the case?” 

As Gibbs turned to tell Ziva what happened, DiNozzo stopped him and reached up to the back of his head. “Boss, you're bleeding.”

Gibbs reached a hand behind his head to discover that indeed he was bleeding. “That son of a bitch.” Stated Gibbs through gritted teeth, pissed.

“Who?” questioned Ziva as DiNozzo forced Gibbs to sit down in his chair he then proceeded to call Ducky. Gibbs informed them about the events that transpired over that lat few hours since they went home. He was just getting to the abduction when Ducky entered.

Ducky arrived in a flash, he was down in Autopsy doing paperwork while waiting for the DNA results. He placed medical supplies on Gibbs' desk, “Jethro, what happened?”

“ I was abducted. Someone hit me over the head twice, once in the parking lot.”

“When?” DiNozzo inquired with panic in his voice. 

Gibbs looked up at his senior field agent, “About an hour or two ago.” While Ducky was attending to Gibbs’ cut, he noticed how he kept a watchful eye on DiNozzo; there was such empathy. Gibbs called over to McGee again, “McGee, can you see if that was captured on surveillance?”

The incident was captured on surveillance but the assailants could not be identified. Watching the video, Gibbs was beyond livid now and getting really tired of playing a game he was losing. He reveals to them he thinks Ives could have possibly been a distraction to abduct him.

“Due to recent events, I think it might be safe to say that nobody goes home alone tonight. Everyone is coming to my house and I am not taking no for an answer.”

“Duck. . . “ Gibbs exasperated.

“Jehtro, the case is not going anywhere, plus I have to make sure you do not have a concussion. I will inform Abby of the new protection detail.”

Everyone was on board, they all went to their places to grab what they needed for the night. Once everyone was at Ducky’s house and settled in what started out as protection detail turned into a sleep over. Ducky and Gibbs sat on the couch watching as DiNozzo put a movie in and Abby returned from the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn. Gibbs sighed at how juvenile his agents were being due to the nature of the situation.

“Let them have a little fun, Jethro. They have been working so hard plus this place is very safe considering all of the agents in the room.” Ducky stated with a humorous chuckle. Gibbs was still contemplating the abduction and trying to make sense behind the conversation he had with his abductor.

“I’ve hit a nerve, Duck.” Gibbs stated as he glanced around the room at his agents to finally stop on DiNozzo which Ducky noticed. “The only problem is I don’t know which one.”

Ducky looked over at Gibbs, “In regards to who, your abductor or Anthony?"

Gibbs was silent but kept his eyes on his senior field agent.

Ducky patted Gibbs hand adoringly, "You will figure this out. You always do. Stop being so hard on yourself.” Ducky returned his attention to the movie.

As the movie progressed, each agent, one by one, fell asleep. Abby was the last one to give in as the credits started to roll on the screen. Gibbs stood up and turned off the TV on his way to Ducky's liquor cabinet. As he poured himself a glass, he heard Ducky coming to join him and poured him a glass as well.

“As a doctor, I ill-advise you to not indulge due to your head injury but as a friend I encourage a drink.” Stated Ducky as we walked over to stand next to Gibbs. Gibbs handed Ducky his glass, they clinked glasses then took a sip. All the while Gibbs looked upon DiNozzo across the room asleep on the floor.

Ducky kept his voice quiet, “That is the third time tonight I’ve caught you looking at Anthony.”

Gibbs eyed Ducky from the corner of his eye before taking a sip. He matched volume of Ducky's voice, “What’s your point?”

They stayed at this volume for a while to not be overheard by the nearby sleeping agents.

“Each time I’ve noticed your eyes were filled with different emotions. First time you shared empathy, second time was fear, and now they are filled with love of great depth.”

“What are you reaching for Duck?” Gibbs took another sip.

“Over the years, Jethro. I have watched you watch your team. You watch them with admiration, kindness, sympathy, and fatherly love. But in the past few weeks, I have seen you look at Anthony in ways I have never seen before. Some looks are for reasons I do not understand and others I do. Why do you feel so betrayed?”

Gibbs downed the last bit in his glass before turning back around to refill his glass, “Come on Duck, its late and I am not ready for a bunch of head shrinking.”

Ducky reiterated his last inquiry, “Why, Jethro? And no deflection.”

“Because he is keeping something from me and I don’t like it.” Gibbs raised his voice at Ducky in rage because he knew Ducky was fishing for an answer that he himself may not be ready to admit. Ducky pushed Gibbs into the kitchen as not to wake anyone.

Ducky responded as Gibbs walked to the other side of the kitchen island, “I think the betrayal is not from Anthony but within yourself and you are using Anthony’s secret to find a reason to be mad at him.”

“So you’re telling me that if one of my agents has a secret, I don't have the right know or the right to be mad or upset about it?”

“Of course not. All I am saying is that maybe you are using Anthony’s secret as an excuse to be angry with him so you don’t have to feel loss or rejection. ”

Right in that moment Ducky had hit a nerve. Gibbs was feeling defeat which he extremely disliked and if looks could kill, Ducky would be dead where he stood. Gibbs leaned up against the counter, wiped his hands down his face, crossed his arms across his chest, sighed, and hung his head low. “I'm in love him, Duck.” 

“I know you do, Jethro. So when are you going to man up and tell him?” Ducky moved over closer to his friend to provide some comfort.

Once the shock wore off of admitting his feelings out loud, Gibbs tossed back his drink before answering his question.“I can’t.”

Ducky now stood in front of Gibbs trying to make eye contact with him, “why?”

Gibbs turned his back to Ducky to lean on the counter behind him, “because he does not feel the same way.”

“Do you know that for sure?”

Gibbs shook his head before turning back around to face his friend, “No.”

Ducky placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, “Then tell him.”

Gibbs had opened up to feelings a little more than he was comfortable with and Ducky knew it. The conversation dwindled and now they stood in silence for a little while before Gibbs wished Ducky a good night.


	8. Investiagting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More research and findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own NCIS or the characters of the show.
> 
> BOLO- Be On the Look Out
> 
> There is a conversation below where you will see Tony and Ziva having a conversation and McGee's word in Bold. I wasn't sure how to relay that he was talking to Gibbs the same time Tony and Ziva were talking with each other.

**Thursday, September 20**

Gibbs found it utterly impossible to sleep last night. Too many thoughts flooded his head. One of those thoughts surrounded Ives, he realized after everything that happened yesterday he forgot to contact Fornell. Around 0500, he decided to get up and head out knowing his mind won't allow him to sleep. He didn’t wait for his team to follow. On the way to NCIS, he called Fornell to discover he was already there waiting with all the evidence from the crime scene last night. Gibbs met up with him down in the evidence garage. He took the coffee Fornell offered him, “What happened last night?”

Gibbs sipped his coffee before responding, “I was abducted. Ives was a distraction.”

“Damn. How did we fall for that?” Fornell said heavily sarcastic.

Gibbs slightly chuckled at his sarcasm.“Not sure. But I know that we were on a trail to something otherwise this wouldn’t have happened.”

He stood by and watched Gibbs examine the car, “I figured you would want to reprocess the scene yourself, so I had everything brought here last night.”

Gibbs looked up at Fornell, “Ives?”

“At the hospital. His condition is still wavering. I left someone from my team with instructions to call if anything changes.” 

Gibbs took another sip of coffee as he walked back over to stand next to Fornell, "Once my team gets here. I'll have them process the scene and we'll compare notes."

Fornell nodded his head and headed back to FBI headquarters. Gibbs headed to his desk upstairs to wait for his team, if they weren't already there.

He stepped out of the elevator to see DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee arriving. Nobody said a word as they settled in behind their desks. Gibbs picked up his phone to call down to Abby's lab. He first wanted to check if Campbell's DNA results came back, they had not, so he asked her to focus her attention to Ives' car down in the evidence garage in the meantime. Gibbs hung up his phone to see his team looking in his direction waiting for instructions. Since the crime scene had already been processed by Fornell's team, they had to go off of the evidence that was already collected. He asked the three of them to look at the photographic evidence then meet up with Abby down in the garage to look at the car and other evidence to theorize about what went down.

After a few hours, he joined them in the evidence garage to go over everything. Abby told her findings about the car, it was wiped clean inside. The outside of the vehicle had evidence of basic wear and tear but the door handle and gas cap had no fingerprints. She also found traces of bullet nicks on the interior of the car. Her conclusion was the crime scene was staged or Ives was a total neat freak. DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee proceeded to inform him of their findings. They each took turns discussing the crime scene photos. The tire tracks found at the scene were no made by Ives' vehicles but a tow truck. Their findings along with Fornell's team original findings, they concluded the crime scene was staged to look like a failed suicide attempt. The evidence pointed to Ives being a distraction just as Gibbs suspected.

Gibbs smiled at his team and called Fornell to ask him to return to NCIS. After Fornell arrived and he was informed of their findings, the two of them went up to Vance's office to tell him of their findings and a need for a warrant.

Vance informed them he would maul it over and get back to them on that. Fornell headed back to FBI Headquarters once again and Gibbs stormed over to his desk pissed that the only thing standing in his way was Vance. He was trying his hardest to do this by the books because DiNozzo was involved and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize justice for his senior field agent. Gibbs hated being idle especially when he felt a break in the case coming to fruition. He saw his team sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to be directed on their next move. Unfortunately, he had no directions to give them right now. With nothing to do and his hands tied, he sent them home for the day.

He stayed a little bit after everyone left to work on some paperwork and to process some thoughts he had. His contemplation was interrupted when Director Vance showed up and dropped a file on his desk, "Search warrant for Ives." He walked away back to his office. Gibbs flipped open the file to see a search warrant filled out by Director Vance and the date section was empty for Gibbs to fill in. He called Fornell on his cell to inform him of the search warrant. They agreed to meet early tomorrow morning to go over to Ives' house.

**Friday, September 21 **

Gibbs stopped by Fornell's house to pick him up. They were en route to Ives' house when Fornell's cell phone rang. He answered it, “Fornell. . . . . What? When? . . . . . How did this happen? . . . Lock down the hospital now!” Gibbs could only hear one side of the conversation and it didn't sound well. He didn't even wait for the phone call to end before he turned around and headed towards the hospital that Ives was checked in at.

They entered the hospital swiftly and headed to the room where Fornell's agent was stationed.

The agent saw his boss heading towards him, “I’m really sorry, sir.”

“Explain. Now!” Fornell tried to keep his voice hushed to not draw attention but he was fierce with his tone.

The agent shifted nervously, “I left just for a minute to ask the nurse about his condition and when I returned the room was empty.”

Fornell pointed adamantly to the ground, “Your job was to stand outside this room and call me if anything happened that was it. If his vitals were bad you would have known. There was no reason for you to leave your post to ask the nurse anything.”

The agent nodded his headed, “I understand, sir.”

Fornell waved dismissively to his agent, “You are relieved of your duty.” As the agent left, Fornell turned to Gibbs, “This wouldn’t have happened if your agents were here. What’s your secret?”

With a smirk on his face Gibbs simply said, “A few head slaps every now and then seem to keep them in line.”

Gibbs and Fornell walked over to the nurse’s station to question staff. There was a shift change during the time Ives made his move so nobody seemed to know what happened. The head nurse looked at his chart to discover discharge papers. He was released into the care of someone named Sarah Campbell. The head nurse informed Gibbs that a newly hired nurse approved the discharge papers. Not knowing any of the Doctors yet, she took the papers and told the woman he was free to leave. The new nurse was not to familiar with Ives' condition and was only following protocol. Gibbs asked to look at the discharge papers, the signature was Dr. Ira Campbell. Fornell inquired about security cameras, hospital security took them to the surveillance room. Gibbs wanted the footage sent to McGee for review. Done at the hospital, Gibbs dropped Fornell off at FBI headquarters then proceeded to NCIS.

Ives' house would have to wait for now but he found himself questioning if this could also be a distraction for an even bigger event to unfold. By the time he arrived at NCIS, his blood was boiling. A critically injured man shouldn't be this elusive.

He stormed into the squad room, “I need answers now!” he yelled through gritted teeth. DiNozzo and Ziva weren't quite aware of the situation yet, they glanced at each other in confusion. They knew the case was becoming unsolvable but his outburst seemed a little unnecessary this early in the morning.DiNozzo was just about ready to ask Gibbs what was going on when McGee entered the space. He was returning from Abby's lab after reviewing the hospital footage and could sense the tension in the room.

“Tell me you’ve got something, McGee.” Gibbs sat behind his desk to put his gun and badge away.

** _"I do but you’re not going to like it. "_ **

Ziva and DiNozzo had their own hushed conversation as McGee was sharing information with Gibbs. DiNozzo walked over to her desk, "McGee has something?"

_ **"The hospital surveillance footage showed a woman in her mid to late 30’s blond hair approaching the nurse’s station."  
** _

They listened as he informed Gibbs then Ziva responded to DiNozzo quietly, "I did not know we were working on anything?"

_ **"From there we see her enter Ives’ room and then the cameras go down and come back up as you and Fornell get there."  
** _

DiNozzo looked at her and inquired sarcastically, "What does McGee have?"

She shrugged her shoulders. Gibbs called over his shoulder, "Are you to done gossiping over there and ready to help?"

McGee finished his sentence, "_**Abby and I identified her name as Sarah Cam….” **_

DiNozzo and Ziva rushed over to Gibbs' side as he was finishing his other agent's sentence, “Campbell. I already knew that, McGee. Any relation to Dr. Ira Campbell?”

DiNozzo smugly said as he glanced to Ziva, "I guess McGee doesn't have something." Gibbs stared daggers at him.

McGee started typing on his keyboard, “Yeah, Boss. She is Dr. Ira Campbell’s daughter.”

“DiNozzo. Ziva. Look into Sarah Campbell then start questioning anybody about her whereabouts.”

"Are you going to clue us in first, Boss? Or do you expect us to fly by the seat of our pants on this one?" DiNozzo regretted the hostility that came out of his mouth just then and embraced for a head slap.

"Sure, DiNozzo. Ives is missing. Is that a big enough clue for you to do your job?" Gibbs responded back with the same note of hostility.

McGee looked at them smugly because he knew what was going on before they did.

DiNozzo was going to respond but thought twice on that and returned to his desk as did Ziva.

As his agents got to work, he decided to make a visit down to his favorite Forensic Scientist to see if she had anything new for him. After a quick visit with Abby and his day seemingly getting worse by discovering from her that the Lab was backed up on DNA results. He was enraged and just wanted answers along with any one of their suspects in custody other than Mathers.

Gibbs returned to the squad room seething now, “I want the three of you out there searching and don’t come back until you find something new.”

The three of them scrabbled up from their desk and headed out. While they were out he took the time to sort of self reflect and ground himself. He knew it wasn't his agents fault that nothing was going right with this case. They just happen to be in the cross hairs of his anger and he knew they were feeling it; well at least DiNozzo was due to his hostile nature earlier. DiNozzo was usually pretty calm and collected. The only time he acted out was when he called out on a mistake or he didn't agree with something.

His agents returned several hours later with no good news but they did figure out a few things about Sarah Campbell. They found out that she recently quit her job and her apartment was empty but had paid in full for a one year lease several months ago. It also turns out that she is dating a guy who works for the company that owns the warehouses. Then there of course is the fact that her and Ives are working together. 

**Saturday, September 22**

Nobody went home last night, they all stayed to connect the dots between the Campbells, Mathers, Ives, Pearson and abducting Military/Federal employees. A few things were discovered during their research that were sort of relevant. The first one being Sarah's connection to the warehouses, second being medical connection between Ira, Mathers, Pearson, and Ives and third being they all had criminal records for one reason or another. Ira had a few malpractices filed against before he retired and Sarah had various misdemeanors. The deeper they looked into Miss Campbell's history, she seemed to be a pawn in her dad's game. In everything Dr. Campbell was involved in, her name popped up as well on top of her own legal issues. Her misdemeanors included assault, trespassing, vandalism, petty theft and first-time possession of drugs . The assault, trespassing, and vandalism charges happened when she was in college. The petty theft charged occurred when her dad was let go from the medical office he worked at. He asked her to break in and collect some medical supplies for him and she did without question. The last misdemeanor was first-time possession of drugs and this is where it got very interesting. Turns out she dated Greg Pearson while he worked in the hospital that Dr. Campbell did. They were caught in the same trial for his drug use. He would convince her to take bottles home for his personal use. With that new notion, they started looking more into Pearson's past. With everything going on with Ives, Pearson fell off their radar but they took this day to really familiarize themselves with everything about all the people of interest. They sent out BOLOs for Ives and Sarah Campbell. 

The majority of the day was silent with everyone invested in their research. About midday, Gibbs phone rang. Abby was on the other end with news that wasn't good. Turns out the DNA results came back and the body in Autopsy claiming to be Ira Campbell was not. With the results the sent out another BOLO for Dr. Ira Campbell.

Gibbs couldn't catch a break but he felt a little better now that more information was revealed on the matter at hand. He wanted his agents to finish what ever it was that they were working on before heading home. He need them not to be distracted tomorrow when they finally had a chance to search Ives' house.

**Sunday, September 23**

They pulled up to Ives’s house. Gibbs was eager to get inside hoping that it would provide a lead in the case. Everyone was given instructions to search the place for evidence. Ziva picked the front door lock and they entered guns drawn. As they wandered around the house, Gibbs could hear DiNozzo, Ziva, McGee and Fornell give “all clear” throughout. Something wasn’t right, there should have been some kind of evidence. It wasn’t until they all gathered in the living room that McGee noticed light coming from underneath a bookcase. They all walked over to it, Gibbs slightly pushed on it and it slide over to reveal a hidden room. The walls were covered with photographs and warehouse district maps. The walls to the right and the left of them had Agent Wilson, and other various victims; some that have already been to the NCIS autopsy while others were yet to be identified or found.

They all walked into the center of the room and looked around. They have seen things like this before but somehow this was different, it was personal this time.

“Start bagging and tagging.” Gibbs announced.

McGee and Ziva left the room to grab stuff from the van. Gibbs noticed that DiNozzo stood there stiff. He walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder it caused DiNozzo to jump, “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” He turned and left to help McGee and Ziva. The three of them got to work each of them took a wall. After everything was collected, they returned to NCIS.

DiNozzo was quite the whole time they were at the crime scene and nothing had changed since they returned to the squad room. Ziva and McGee discreetly watched DiNozzo sit at his desk pensive.

“What you thinking about, Tony?” McGee

“Nothing.” He got up from his desk and left, “Excuse me.”

Gibbs watched him as he left the squad room.

DiNozzo walked into the break room and sat down. He needed a little breather from earlier today. Ever since they returned back to NCIS, he just couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering him exactly. Situations like this had never bothered him before. For now, he would shake it off and get his head back in the game.

The day continued as normal but when it was over, DiNozzo headed over to the nearest bar only to be reminded as he sat down that he couldn't drown his thoughts in alcohol. 

“Club Soda.” He ordered.

“May I join you?” asked Ziva. He nodded in acknowledgment. His drink arrived as she sat down next to him. She took note that he didn’t order his usual.

He took a sip as she ordered her drink. They sat there in silence until Ziva’s drink arrived, “Rough day?”

He stared at the glass in his hand, “More like a rough couple of weeks.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not in particularly.”

She rested a hand on his arm, “I am your friend, Tony. Whenever you decide you want to talk, I will be there to listen.” She gave him a smile then a peck on the cheek before getting out of her chair to leave.

He turned in his chair to look at her leaving, “Ziva?”

She turned around to face him, “Hmm?”

“If you had something to tell someone and you were unsure of the outcome in revealing that information, would you still tell them?”

She thought pensively before responding, “Yes. I would rather them know then not. I would not want that information to weigh heavily on me. Why do you ask, Tony?” She looked puzzled at her friend.

“It’s this case, Ziva. I just. . . . .It’s nothing. Forget it.” he swiveled his chair back to the bar.

She walked back to him to stand next to him by the bar and placed a hand on his shoulder, “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay” she said skeptically before continuing, “But you will ca. . “

“I’ll call if I need to talk.”

They said goodbye for the second time and Ziva left DiNozzo at the bar. He finished his drink as he contemplated everything that has happened within the last couple of weeks. His thoughts wandered to Gibbs. He knew Gibbs was having a hard time with this case and he disliked that he was not able to provide answers. When he could not reflect anymore and grew exhausted he headed back to his apartment to wake up and start all over again tomorrow.


End file.
